Together
by Sgt. Socks
Summary: sequel to Divided.He took me in his arms again.I didn't stop him,because right now,I wanted to be here.In fact,I'm pretty sure I walked into the embrace,wanting nothing more than the feeling of being close to him.He was back,where he would be forever.
1. 00: Theme Song

**here is the new installment to the Divided series! :D Part II: Together. :)**

**i hope you enjoy it, and please, continue to be awesome like you were with Divided and continue reading and reviewing.**

**i'm not gonna post anymore tonight, because i don't wanna overwhelm people who didn't get a chance to finish Divided. i _could _put up to 23, but i won't. i'll put this tonight and continue updating tomorrow.**

**if i get more reviews. :)**

**now, please. R&R. and enjoy. :)**

**after i tell you this. this is another song i _strongly _recommend you listen to! it's _amazing_. once again, i can't make you, but i strongly recommend it. :)**

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><p><strong>00. The Diary of Jane: Breaking <strong>**Benjamin**

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><p>I've come face to face with death before—many times it seemed, and over the past year, the number has only grown. It would've been peaceful, and it would've been a lot better than my life; or what was coming at least. I had no idea just how bad it was about to get. What seemed like my fairytale was about to have one of the most unhappy endings I could ever imagine.<p>

Everything I knew was falling apart. Edward became more and more distant as the days went by, and he got to the point where he didn't even come visit me at nights anymore. He would just text me.

Honestly, it hurt. I felt scared, like he was beginning to not really even care anymore.

But, here's what really gets me. When we _are_ actually together, he acts completely normal and happy, like nothing is wrong or weird. Part of it is sincere, but there's another part inside of him that's completely faking it. I could tell he was being truly sincere when he said he loved me, but there was always pain in his voice. It was a pain he refused to talk about, but I knew he needed to talk. It was bothering us both, and it was scaring me.

If one song could describe my life right now, that would have to be _Together_ by **Avril Lavigne**. If any of you have a theme song of your life, this was my current one. Of course, mine changes all the time, because my life is constantly changing, and I'm not the same person as I used to be. The point is, it was my current theme song right now.

I had become dependant on him, against my willpower. He had become a necessity to my life, but I was beginning to believe that soon, he wouldn't be there.

Being alone scared me. It always had. I feared I would find anyone, and I would grow up alone as one of those cat ladies—except with dogs, of course.

Edward came along and made me realize that it didn't have to be that way, and I truly thought it wouldn't. I began getting new ideas, the biggest one being the idea of forever. But now, I feared tomorrow, worried that I might wake up one day to find all of this was just a dream. I might wake up one day and realize my fairytale I had gotten sucked into was turning into a nightmare.

I. Was. Scared.


	2. 01: Fight

**hello all. :)**

**i got a review yesterday (or maybe it was today?), and i've been meaning to update ever since i got home from school! honest. i just get so distracted . . . i'm sorry.**

**here is the next chapter, though. with another review, i'm gonna post 2 more chapters, because one of the chapters is short. really short. on Word, it's not even a page long, and i don't think it reached a thousand words.**

**being as my chapters as of late have neared two thousand, sometimes more, that's not normal. i don't mind short chapters when reading other people's stuff, but it bothers me when i do it, and idk why . . . .**

**...and this is why i get distracted. i could ramble on all day to myself, and you-if you're reading anyways-but i'll stop now with two last requests. one, please keep reviewing. :) it really makes me happy and just . . . ah. words can't keep explaining this to you. they really can't.**

**and two? listen to this chapter song too. it really is amazing. i _love _listening to it while reading this chapter. maybe it's just me. idk. but, if you want, it's listed below.**

**here ya go! :)**

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><p><strong>01. Natural Life: Breaking Benjamin<strong>

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><p>There were ups and downs with me and Edward. Our whole relationship was the best roller coaster ride I've ever been on. One minute we're screaming at each other at the top of our lungs. I end up crying, and he gets <em>pissed<em>. Every time, though, when I cry, I just fall farther and farther in love with him. There have been times I'm up about two o'clock, and I'm putting every curse word I know with his name.

There have been many times where we're fighting outside, where it's raining, and it ends with us making out in the rain. Well, not making out, but as close as you can get without making out. Ever since we lost control that first time, he's been more restrained.

As far as I could tell, we were so in love it was making us act completely insane. It didn't matter to me, though. Every fight just made me fall more and more in love with him, and whenever he said we'd be together, forever, it always made me rest a little easier. Maybe he really was considering it . . . .

Or not. Who knows with him anymore?

"Well, you wanna know what I think?" I asked icily, giving him a very dark glare to match my tone—and current mood. The leaves and twigs were snapping under my feet, and each time, Auggie freaked out and barked at me. She was just a bundle of energy, who was getting bigger—but that's so not the point.

"Not really," he snapped, surprising me a little and catching me off guard. Every other time I said that, he would reply with, "Of course," no matter what the situation was and no matter what he was feeling.

Not really? He's _never _said that.

I got over the shock quickly and rolled my eyes. "I think either you simply don't wanna have to deal with me forever, or you're scared."

He snorted. "Mayze, you should know by now that I love you. That shouldn't even be questioned, in any way. The fact that you _don't _is actually kinda irritating."

"So you're scared!" I exclaimed, voice echoing through the woods a little too much for my comfort. "That's just all there is to it!"

"I'm not scared!" he defended firmly, just as loudly as I was. If anyone happened to be walking in the woods, they might get nervous, because this was getting harsh and ugly.

Our fights usually did.

"What in the _hell _is there to be scared of?"

"I don't know," I murmured, voice now quiet as I thought. It was still dark and bitter, but it was more sinister since it was quiet. "Maybe you're scared I'll be too different? I have no idea, Edward."

"So, how could you possibly know I'm scared?"

"Because," I said softly, more calm than earlier. "I know you better than you know yourself. I know you like the back of my hand—better even. You, Edward Anthony Masen-Cullen, are scared. Of what? I don't know yet. I just know you are."

At that moment, he grew silent, and an eerie, awkward silence followed. He was just glaring at me, and I was glaring right back. It was a hard fought battle, and in the end, I wasn't sure who would win. Sure, I was _way _more stubborn than Edward, but he had the ability to stop me from being changed. Me? I couldn't make myself be changed, unless I went to another vampire. That scared me, just the idea of it. What would give anyone else the incentive to _not _kill me?

This, though, was an even battle right now. Alice, Jasper, Esme, Emmett, Carlisle, and I all agree I should be changed. Edward, Rosalie, Bella, and the pack all demand that I shouldn't be—can't be.

Even? Sure, the no side has way more than the yes side, but the yes side has _Carlisle_, the person that matters the most. The pack? We would deal with that later, but if Carlisle agreed with me, it meant I would end up changed somehow or another.

"You wanna know what I'm scared of?" he whispered quietly, after at least a minute of the silence. "I'm scared of losing you."

"And you will if you don't—"

"Just hang on," he interrupted, voice gentle and full of a pain that, honestly, broke my heart. "I'm scared of losing you after the change begins. The success rate isn't one hundred percent, Mayze. People die during the change itself. I'm scared to be responsible for the kind of pain you'll have to suffer through." His head turned away from me, turned so far that he wasn't looking at me in any way anymore. "But, other than losing you, one thing in particular scares me the most."

"What?" I breathed, once he quit talking for a couple of seconds.

His eyes moved back to me, and I saw that agonizing pain in them again. This was different somehow. It was more real, more intense. It was _honest_, and for once, he was holding absolutely nothing back. There was no hiding, and there was no pretending.

It was raw. It was real. It was the _truth._

"I'm scared to lose you . . . to someone else."

A quick gush of air wheezed out of my chest, leaving me motionless and frozen in shock. I couldn't move—had no idea what I could say at first. It took me by complete surprise. Out of everything he could've said, that would've been the last thing I would've expected.

"How could you even think such a thing is possible?"

"You live in Forks," he said bluntly, shrugging. "The only other place you've known is Phoenix. Yeah, that's big, but you travel the world as a vampire. You see things, meet new people . . . ." his eyes stared deeply into mine. "You find out that there are new people beyond what you ever imagined in the world, and you find new things, new emotions."

I shook my head as my eyes started tearing up. This pain—and genuine fear—he felt was just too real, too heartbreaking.

"I will _never _leave you," I vowed, finding the words coming out strangled—choked with pain.

"You say that now," he murmured, looking away from me and off into the distance. "But one day, you'll see what I mean, actually understand. One day, you'll realize that the guy you've always dreamed of being with, since you were a little girl, is out there somewhere. I found it out, but only after decades of searching." He must've heard the way my heart stopped in my chest, because he looked back to me again. "Because I found you."

I was aware, as tears slid down my face, that he was completely and one hundred percent serious. In his mind, I was just settling with him, just choosing him because there was no one currently better.

"The funny thing about that dream person is that sometimes, you think you want something when, in reality, what you _really _want is someone different. You want someone unique, like no one else you've ever met before," I started, using all I had in me to lock his eyes in mine. "You tell me that one day, I'll find everything I've ever wanted in a guy, and that I'll find him. But what you don't realize is that I already have. You, Edward, are the boy I've always wanted, whether I always knew it or not."

He let out a humorless laugh. "You mean to tell me that you've always been dumb enough to want a vampire? A monster?"

I rolled my eyes. "Stop that. You're not a monster, Edward. Stop saying that. To answer your question, no, but you wanna know something? To me, the fact that you're a vampire doesn't matter. That boy I've always dreamed of—you—is amazing, more incredible than I ever dared to hope for."

"Are you just saying that?" he whispered, eyes no longer on me.

"I'm not gonna lie to you just so you'll feel better," I assured him, giving him a small smile. "If I didn't mean it, I wouldn't say it. You know me, Edward. Sweet? Honest? Hell yeah. Corny? Fuck no."

He laughed a little now before pulling me into a tight, desperate embrace. I didn't understand, but in that instant, I knew something was off. Something was going completely wrong, but I couldn't pinpoint what it was. He had his mind set for something, something that was gonna change everything.

I just didn't know what it was.


	3. 02: Games

**this is the really short chapter i warned you about. before this author's note, it was only 547 words. so, yes. really short. that's why i'm putting up chapter 3.**

**i'm putting up 4 as an apology. i was able to update last night, but i was so excited, because i finally got Fable I and II, and then, i got a Wii motion sensor plus to play the new Zelda game, so i was super pumped!**

**sorry. that's why i'm putting up ch. 4. :)**

**please review anyways. :) rachLA is the only one who seems to have found the sequel so far. :/ but oh well. thanks for keeping up with it, rach! :D i really appreciate all your reviews and support. honest.**

**now, ch. 2. Games.**

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><p><strong>02. Say Goodbye: Skillet<strong>

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><p>I stuck to my promise.<p>

No matter what, I didn't leave Edward's side—at least as little as possible, because he can't exactly be with me _everywhere_.

But you get my point.

Edward and I were laying across his couch. Emmett was getting rather frustrated, and my position I was laying didn't help anything. Because not only was I kicking his _ass _in Modern Warfare 3, but I was also doing it while laying upside down on the couch.

They both kept telling me that all the blood was gonna rush to my head, and then my head would explode.

But, I didn't listen, until now, when I really _did _start getting a massive headache.

So, I sat up and laid in Edward's lap. It still didn't help Emmett's irritation, though. I didn't really care.

The letters _Victory _came across the screen as I threw another throwing knife into the back of his head, killing him for the seventeenth time straight.

He grunted loudly. "Damn it, Mayze! I'm getting about sick of this!"

I smirked at him. "Hey, Em. You gotta give me _something. _ This is the only thing I can beat you in. I can't outrun you. I can't outsmart you. I can't outwrestle you. So what do I have? Modern Warfare 3."

"I don't want you to have anything!" he exclaimed. "I hate this game. I quit."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, we both know as soon as I'm gone, you're gonna be playing all night long trying to better yourself. Have fun. I love a challenge."

"Fall off a cliff," he muttered under his breath, and I just laughed, whereas Edward looked rather irate as he glared over at Emmett.

"I probably will," I agreed, smirking. "I would be harmlessly walking along, and then, trip, fall, SPLAT. It's gonna happen."

"Like hell that's gonna happen," Edward growled. "We'll stay as far away from cliffs as we possibly can."

I shrugged. "Okay. So then that's a no to cliff diving with Embry and Seth next week?"

"I can't stop you," he reminded me. "But if I could, that answer would be the same _fuck no_ I gave you last week."

I nodded. "Right, right."

He began fidgeting a little as Jasper put a new game into the Wii—the awesomely new Zelda game, which has been noted as the best Zelda game yet.

"You look like you want to play or something," I teased, and he grinned a little, nodding.

"Jasper goes first, though," he reminded me. "I don't know what it is, Mayzie, but when you come along, we all get hooked on games. I don't understand it."

"Video games are amazing," I said firmly, scowling up at him. "Some say they rot your brain, but you actually learn a lot from video games. You'd be surprised."

"I'm sure."

"Seriously!" I insisted, smiling happily at him as he pulled me closer to his body. "Some games teach you, even if you don't realize it, what to do in certain situations. Like, if I was approached by a random stranger, thanks to _Grand Theft Auto_, I would know to run, get in my car, and back over the bastard."

And this was the summary of my day—video games.

I would say that's a day well spent; you?


	4. 03: Torture

**okay. here's the Twilight-ish like part i warned you about. ch. 4, however, is _way _different. i'm talking 10083094729374% different.**

**random number. point still remains, it's different.**

**now, i'll stop rambling after i say, please R&R. :)**

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><p><strong>03. Are You Ready: Three Days Grace<strong>

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><p>I was running away; from what, I didn't know. Haunting me, stalking me was a mystery unknown. Nothing to protect me, alone in the world, I was left defenseless against the powerful evil.<p>

I was in the woods by Charlie's house, and Edward was now following closely behind me. It was sprinkling, and, even in the cool rain, it was really hot in this particular area. I was sweating a lot, but that was to be expected in a hot climate.

Then, we stopped in the middle of the woods, out of nowhere. I expected him to say something funny, or make fun of me in some way, but Edward said two words that broke my heart completely.

"Goodbye, Mayze."

It was strange. Two words made my world completely different in one instant, with a snap of my fingers. Everything started spinning, and my world shattered in front of my eyes.

"No!" I yelled as I took a step closer to him in protest. "Edward, no! You can't say that to me! You promised!"

He just looked at me with blank eyes, and then a beautiful vampire with strawberry blonde hair, tan skin, and sea green eyes ran up. She had a sorta smug look on her lips, and she grabbed his arm, breaking the pieces of my heart all over again into many more pieces.

"I don't love you, Mayze," he said simply, shrugging. What hurt was, in the dream, it was sincere.

That made sense. It made sense that he would want a beautiful vampire like her, and not an ugly, simple human like me. Compared to him, I was _hideous_. He deserved someone like her. Beautiful and angelic, she could give him everything he would want. She could be with him in ways I couldn't. She looked good beside him. She didn't degrade his perfect, beautiful face. Instead, she outlined it.

I couldn't say anything as he wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed the side of her head softly. I just stared disbelievingly, unable to find words. I hadn't been expecting this at all, especially how he was rubbing her in my face like this. It wasn't like him.

"Bye, Mayze," he said again before disappearing with his new love in the fast, vampire way I wasn't capable of reaching.

She was.

I knew then, as I felt the ability to breathe escape me, I had been running away from life, from everything.

I had been running to save myself. Being alone was too much for me, something I literally couldn't live with anymore.

That's when I couldn't take the pain I was feeling, even though I was deep in sleep, anymore; so I woke up as fast as I possibly could. I found myself drenched in sweat, just like in my dream. It didn't help that Auggie was sleeping curled up close to me, so her body heat was heating me up too.

It just didn't help.

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><p>It was storming outside, and when the thunder clapped, I was more awake, as was Auggie. When I put one foot on the floor, though, something suddenly hit me like a baseball bat hits a baseball.<p>

There was this . . . I got this achy feeling in my stomach. It tore me down to the core, and ripped at my heart. I wasn't sure what it was, but it was suddenly eating me inside. Everything was just so painful and groggy.

It wasn't nausea at all. I wasn't getting sick. I knew exactly what this feeling was, because I've felt in many times before.

What I was feeling was fear. Fear of what, I don't know. All I knew was . . . I was feeling fear.

For some reason, I knew something bad was going to happen today. I didn't know what, when, where, and how, but I knew for a hundred percent fact that something would.

_That_ was the fear ache in my stomach.

I hadn't noticed it before, but Edward was sitting in the rocking chair, unmoving. His face was suddenly lit by the lightning, and what I saw scared me more than any of his other expressions ever had. It was dark, angry even, as he stared ahead of him.

He must not have noticed I was up yet, because pain flashed across his face too.

Then, when he blinked, his eyes moved over to me, and instantly, his face went completely and totally impassive, along with his eyes.

"Hi," I said quietly before brightly smiling at him. "What are you doing here? I didn't know you—"

He cut me off instantly, as if he wasn't even paying attention to me. "I need to talk to you about something."

My eyebrows furrowed as I looked outside, only for a moment, before looking back at him. "Alright. What is it?"

"There's no point in delaying it," he said simply, as if whatever it was wasn't a big deal, before looking me straight in the eyes. "Mayze, this is goodbye, forever. We're moving away now. I promise. You won't have to worry about us causing you danger any longer. It'll be like we never even existed."

My heart shattered instantly. This time, though, it was much, much worse than the dream. This was really happening. It was like déjà vu, but a million times worse—a trillion. Everything made no sense any longer, and I couldn't even believe this was real.

"W-What?" I was stuttering to talk, since nothing else seemed to make any sense to me. Nothing was coming out right, working right. "N-No! Edward, you promised!"

"I said as long as it's what's best for you," he reminded me, shaking his head. "And, Mayze, it isn't. You need a human, normal person who won't kill you or constantly put your life in danger. You deserve that much." He paused, looking me straight in the eye before going on. "And you need someone who loves you."

If my heart was still intact at all from before, it wasn't now, at all. It exploded right then, and tears started filling my eyes. I forced them not to come, but it was hard. He just couldn't see them now . . . .

My mouth was trembling. "Y-You don't l-love me?"

"No." His voice was hard and flat. It had an icy, even edge to it, and that just pained me even more.

I couldn't think clearly, at all. My head was spinning faster than ever before, leaving me incapable of doing anything at all.

Then, I heard how sincere that was. It finally clicked in my lie radar that it wasn't, at all.

I swallowed noticeably and looked him dead in the eyes. They were attempting to be blank, but I could see past the mask, just like always. "Liar."

His teeth ground together. "How can you know? Maybe you were reading me wrong all along. Did that thought ever occur to you?"

"You're lying!" I exclaimed. "Edward, I know what you're doing! You're doing this to protect me! Look, I'll die if I have to! Edward, you can't go!"

He just looked at me with the same "blank" eyes. I could see the pain, though, as he stared at me, unsure for just a moment how to protest. But, he completely regained his composure quickly and said, "Mayze, I'm sorry, for everything. You won't have to worry about me anymore. We'll all be fine. Move on, be happy, start a family. Be with a normal, human man. It's what you deserve. Someone who can love you."

I just looked at him, my eyes torn and confused. Did I not just get it out of my mouth that I saw past the lie?

Was he ignoring me now?

"Well, we have to leave soon," he said quietly as his eyes went out the window. "Goodbye, Mayze. I'm so sorry for all of this." Then, he turned to leave. He froze in the doorway, though, in just an instant. "One more thing."

I just grit my teeth to hold back the angry tears. I wasn't stupid. I knew why he was doing this, and now he's not even listening to me. He knows I know, so he's trying to avoid it.

"What?" My voice sounded as hard and cold as his had. I was getting better at lying and acting now, since I've had to do it a lot since I came here.

"Be safe," he whispered brokenly. I could tell it was a slip that he hadn't quite noticed yet, something that gave me more fuel to realize that this was just an act. "That's the last thing I want is you getting hurt."

I just stared up at him, a harsh, cold look. "If you really don't love me, then stop acting like you care and just go. It just hurts that much worse to hear the lies, Edward. I'm not stupid. I know you."

His eyes looked torn for a second, but then, like his face, they went completely blank. "I'll just get out of your life now." With that, he disappeared.

What was left of my heart, or the pieces of it at least, were screaming at me to run after him and scream at him. I wanted to plead with him not to leave. I wanted to tell him I needed him, and that if it meant dying, fine. I couldn't live my life without him, even if it had an end.

But my head was saying no. I guess only my head could see exactly how broken my heart was right now. One of them was a lie. Was everything a lie or just right now? Suddenly, as he slammed the Volvo door, I wasn't sure; I didn't really care.

I ran outside, completely ignoring the ice cold rain. I watched his Volvo pull out and speed away down the street. As far as I could tell, he hadn't even glanced at me. The rain was pouring down harder than I ever remember it raining since I've been to Forks, and it was like ice, even though it was the middle of June.

I was thankful Bella was staying at Jessica's the night before for a sleepover. It was her, Lauren, Angela, Jessica, and Ashley. I wasn't invited, though, and even if I had been, I wouldn't have gone. Angela is the only person there I can tolerate.

My hair was soaked, my body drenched, and I sank to my knees, unable to help the shaking. I was thankful, also, that Charlie's cruiser wasn't here either, meaning he was already at work.

Just when I thought my life was coming together, I come to realize that it was just starting to fall apart.

"I'll never forget you, Edward Anthony Masen-Cullen. I just can't move on. I'm sorry about that. I'll wait for you, even though you can't hear me."

But, I struggled to keep the tears that were on the verge of coming away. I wasn't sure if I would ever be able to stop if I did. And, honestly, I think I was too broken to cry, if that's even possible.


	5. 04: Threat

**well, here ya go. :\**

**R&R please. :D even though this is sad. :( poor Mayze. don't worry. things are different from here on out.**

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><p><strong>04. Losing Grip: Avril Lavigne<strong>

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><p>Body trembling, uncertain of what just happened; I was a mess. Cold, dazed, lost.<p>

When I was younger, crying always seemed to be the answer. Now that I'm older, crying seems to be the only option. But, I couldn't do it. I couldn't cry. It was as if my body was in shock, still not believing what was going on.

The sound of a pebble against my window made me jump in surprise, to the point I gasped out-loud and looked over at the window, the same one Jacob had climbed through so many months ago the night that it all started.

Here again, back to that window, someone was about to climb through it the day that it all ended.

Of course, after thinking this, it was natural to find that I was crying by the time I got to the window. Something about this thought seemed to allow the tears.

Emmett surprised me, gazing up at me with a tortured, _serious _look. My usual, goofy, funny, outgoing, happy older brother looked depressed—completely _serious_. He looked more than serious and depressed, though. He honestly looked scared too.

"Hurry, Mayzie, come here!" he whispered loudly, gesturing with his hands the same thing. "I don't have much time before Edward finds out I'm here!"

I didn't understand, but being the smart person I am, I decided to jump out of the window. Thankfully, he caught me, but I still got my leg caught up on the windowsill.

"Damn it, Mayze, be careful!" he exclaimed, sounding actually pissed at my clumsiness for the first time ever. He was frustrated. But, before I got to ask, he grabbed my hand and pulled me into his arms before taking off.

He wasn't as fast as Edward, but he was still pretty damn fast.

All of the sudden, he stopped, in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. I wasn't sure where we were going, or what he was doing, but he put me down and let out a frustrated groan.

"Damn it, he's not coming home now!" he moaned, knotting his fingers in his hair. But, then, he turned back to me, now focused. "I don't know what all he told you, but he loves you, Mayzie. Don't ever believe anything else, no matter what he said or anyone else says. This is just some bullshit he's doing to protect you."

"He told me to move on, Em, and get a normal, human boyfriend, husband," I choked out, my voice breaking at just the idea. "He just doesn't get it, does he?"

A half-hearted smile spread across his lips. "Not at all. But, listen, Mayzie, no matter what, know he _does _love you. You _can't _move on." His face twisted. "Unless you find someone better . . . a family you love more . . . ." He laughed. "Here, we find ourselves in a _Tuck Everlasting _situation. If you love him, wait for him. It won't be too awfully long before he comes running back to you, begging you to forgive him and take him back. He may think he can do it, but he can't stay away from you, Mayzie. I know I can't, and I'll probably be back way before him. The point is, just know that he loves you, enough that he's giving you up to protect you." He grinned. "But, once we're all back and you're back in our lives again, I'll change you myself. You _will _be with us, forever. Know that."

That cheered me up a little, but I still wasn't sure how this was gonna work out. How would I have any fun in life without them? Just like they say I'm the life of their family, they're the life of me. Everything would be so pointless and boring.

He groaned. "I have to go, Mayzie. I love you, baby doll. Be patient for once, please, and _be careful_." He kissed my forehead softly before taking off in the direction of his house.

Damn it, Em. I have no idea how to get home.

Typical Emmett.

A twig snapped in the distance, just a little bit away from me, as I started to decide which way we had come. It caught my attention, but I dismissed it as a squirrel or something.

When a figure appeared beside me—a dark, slender, bright crimson eyed figure—I realized otherwise.

His lips pressed against my neck as he pulled me against his cold body, making me shiver in fear all over again. "Hello, my dear. I hope you don't mind me crashing your party."

I sucked in a horrified breath. "B-Blade."

"You remember me," he grinned, chuckling darkly under his breath. "How nice. So, you know why I'm here then."

"To . . . to kill me?"

He clamped his hand over my mouth, obviously seeing that I was about to scream for Emmett. Now, he was laughing again, this time much more sinisterly and loudly. "To torture you. Yes, I will kill you, but that, my dear, will be in the future. They're gone, leaving me _plenty _of time to let the torture settle, to eat you alive. Not only will living without them kill you, but living with what I'm about to do to you will too."

"W-Wh-What are you about t-to do to, to me?" I stuttered out, shaking more violently than I had all day, which is saying a lot, considering how much I've trembled today.

His hand slid up my shirt, creeping under my bra instantly. "Guess."

_No . . . not now . . . Edward . . . ._

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><p>At this point, I was alone in the woods, curled up to a tree with all of the remains of my clothes on. My camisole was tattered, and my underwear? Shreds, as in little pieces. I had on my shorts, but the waistline was on the verge of snapping.<p>

When they found my dead, almost naked, bleeding, bruised remains, what would they think? How would they react? What would they determine as my cause of death?

Charlie . . . Renée . . . Bella . . . .

She would know, and it would _kill _her. She would think she was right, all along, but she wasn't right, not about my family anyways. Yes, there are bad vampires out there, but there are bad werewolves too—bad humans.

Well, maybe not bad. Just people who do bad things.

Slipping away . . . losing my grip . . . .

A growling sound was the key that allowed me to hold onto consciousness. Slipping away could be the end, but I wasn't completely hopeless. A part of me knew I had to hold on for Edward, but I didn't fully want to do that. My mind was in agony—too confused, too weary—to hold on.

My heart knew it had to, though.

There in front of me was a _huge _white wolf, with a pair of familiar nuclear blue eyes, eyes I would recognize from a mile away. They were so unique, so beautiful.

Embry.

I was shaking, trembling in fear and pain . . . and because it was just that fucking cold. It had been raining all day long, ever since this morning, when I first got out here, and it was only God knows what time—either midnight or sometime early the next morning.

I couldn't stop myself from violently coughing, sniffling a little as I forced my eyes opened and looked at him. "Embry?"

He nodded his giant head. Of course, he was a wolf right now, so he couldn't talk, but instead, he howled. It was a howl to let the others know something, but in that howl, I heard a deep sorrow, something Embry didn't usually feel.

A part of him seemed to just know I was in pain, all over, so he just laid down beside me and let me pet him, protecting me without actually resting anything on me.

Jacob _would _show up right about then, eyes blazing—the fire burning in them sparking even brighter when he saw me.

"What the hell did those stupid leeches do to you?" he sneered.

Embry snarled at him, lips curling back to reveal his sharp, ferocious teeth.

"Shut it, Embry," Jake snapped. "Your sick, twisted little buddy-buddy relationship with the Cullens won't save them. They _clearly _hurt her, which breaks the treaty! They're _dead_! Where are they, Mayze?"

I didn't know how to answer, didn't know if I could talk really. When I tried to, all I could do was whimper in pain.

Jacob's eyes softened as he realized the extent of my pain. He realized that talk would come at a later day in the far, distant future.

"What . . . what happened to you?"

"Blade," I whispered, a name that sparked that rage in both of their eyes. "He . . . he . . . ." but I couldn't say it. When I tried to, I just burst into tears and found myself shaking even more violently.

"Mayze, calm down," Jacob said softly before pulling me up into his arms. "Let's get you out of this rain and get you taken care of."

Being against his warm, steaming hot body was something I was _not _gonna protest. All body heat I had was probably gone, so I definitely didn't mind borrowing some of his.

"Damn, Mayze," he murmured. "You're as cold as a fucking bloodsucker."

"Watch it," I hissed, not very threateningly though. Honestly, I was surprised the words even came out, because I didn't think I _could _talk right now. "They're still my family."

I guess defending the ones I love makes a difference.


	6. 05: All at Once

**okay. i do apologive _deeply _for not updating all weekend. but, well...Saturday, I had percussion camp from 9-5. then, i lost my jump drive. then, yesterday was National Championship day, and there was a party. good news? i found my jump drive. :D**

**it was late, though, and i've been unable to post anymore until...now. :D**

**so, yes.**

**i apologize again. this is..._ish_...like _New Moon_, but it's also very different. Mayze and Bella aren't the same. Mayze is somewhat capable of functioning and smiling without Edward. but, well, she was also raped. that's not something you just move on from. it haunts you. some people never get over it. thankfully, Mayze does.**

**it's not a joke either.**

**anyways, enough ranting. one more apology, though.**

**these next THREE chapters (all of the ones i'm posting tonight) are short. that's why you get three instead of one. please, though, review them. i know they're short. this, before the author's note, is ****_226_ words. so, yes. it's short. they all. point is, they need to be, because she's messed up. simple as that.**

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><p><strong>05. Scared: Three Days Grace<strong>

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><p>July . . . .<p>

A month full of lies and heartbreak.

For the first time, I cried about this; my entire situation. After two weeks, I realized he's really not here, and Blade really did rape me—brutally.

Jacob and the pack had come up with a cover story, even though none of them wanted to really do that. It was something they _had _to do because the Cullens didn't break the treaty. So, they weren't gonna start a war when a war was nowhere near necessary.

They decided to say that a man found me wandering, raped me, and then left me for dead. But they "found his remains" a few days later, and before Charlie could see it, it magically vanished somehow.

Yeah . . . crazy. It worked, though.

I told Charlie that Edward wrote me every day, because texting wasn't enough effort to him. In case he was lying when he said goodbye and Emmett was being serious, I wanted things to flow smoothly whenever he got back.

Functioning without Edward seemed impossible, but I knew I could've done it, at least since I knew he would be back one day. Living with the heartbreak and the memories of what Blade did to me would've been something I was able to overcome.

Both at once? Forget it.

Fourth of July.

Pain.

Hell.


	7. 06: School

**this one? 136.**

**but you get three really short ones. :D the next one's longer, so they almost add up to 1000 words...**

**i PROMISE. if i get a review tonight before i go to bed, i'll put more. :D if not, i'll put more asap tomorrow. :)**

**R&R, though, _please_. :D**

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><p><strong>06. Nightmare: Avenged Sevenfold<strong>

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><p>August . . . .<p>

More lies. Charlie still thinks highly of Edward, since it's not his fault that they moved—as far as he knows.

School.

I expected to be interrogated about the incident with Blade, and I expected to be bombarded with questions asking how I was coping without my family, but mostly, people were just glad to see me, it seemed.

Some people try to understand, but nobody can know what living like this is like.

There's a smile on my face at school, but I don't know why it's there. I put it on to satisfy all the people that don't even care.

Growing, agonizing pain.

More tears.

Have you ever cried yourself to sleep?

I do, every night.

Welcome to the place worse than hell, where my life seems to constantly be.


	8. 07: Farther

**294 without all this...i was wrong.**

**i was also wrong. you get 4. the next chapter, after 8 (so, to put it simply, 9) will be 3077 words. :D so, there ya go. they get longer. promise. these just have to be short.**

**i feel really bad, but it's necessary.**

**i was wrong. you get one more. ;)**

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><p><strong>07. Going Under: Evanescence<strong>

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><p>September . . . .<p>

Once again, more lies.

Bella got mad at me, a lot. She said I was just wasting my life away over a piece of shit vampire who was doing me a favor. Of course, she didn't understand that her theory was only half of what was wrong with me.

She just didn't get it.

Note to, well, you. Don't fall into the trap of pretending everything's fine when you know it isn't, because sometimes, it hurts more to smile in front of everyone than to cry all alone.

Wanna know the worst part about September? I started dating Jared. Why? I wanted to verify that Edward and I were meant to be. I wanted to see if it was possible to move on. I wanted to try and find someone to be there for me when no one else was.

Wanna know what happened next? That's right, ladies and gentlemen. Just when he promised to always be there for me, the bastard imprinted.

Guess where that left me. All alone, again. Not only was I alone, but I was alone and _guilty_. I had cared for Jared before meeting Edward, but I never really acknowledged it. Now, in a way, I cheated on Edward. Of course, he could and would never get mad about it, but I did. Not only that, I found that moving on was _literally _impossible.

It just wasn't right.

Oh, then, there was even more tearing away at the mess of microscopic pieces in my chest I had left to call my heart.

Is there a place farther than the place farther than hell? Because it seems to me that I just keep going farther and farther away from the light . . . .


	9. 08: Worthless

**okay. another thing i want to comment on (not that anyone's said anything yet, but they might)**

**i realize that broken bones, even if they're as serious as Mayze's was, won't last as long as hers did. but, well, i missed it when i went through and edited, and i'm not changing it now. it'll be alright.**

**:) so, please read, review, and enjoy the next chapter. it's 310 words, so all together, the 4 chapters add up to be around a thousand, i think...**

**anyways, yes. here ya go.**

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><p><strong>08. Breathe: Taylor Swift<br>09. Pain: Three Days Grace**

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><p>October . . . .<p>

I got my cast replaced by a boot, finally. It didn't help my leg when Blade smashed it up some more, just for fun.

Halloween just brought more pain than anything else. People dressed up poorly as vampires, since none of them had fangs, but it still hurt whenever they told us what they were. The trick-or-treating made me cry all night long because of the memories.

Memories of Edward . . . memories of the day he left . . . .

I realized this month that I'm a pathetic loser not worth loving because of Blade. He took something special from me. I was soiled now, worthless, and even if Emmett _was _right about Edward, he wouldn't love me whenever he got back. Why would he?

The only positive side of this month was when Charlie set up a maze in the backyard for Halloween. Embry, Seth, and Jake had come over to help run it. Anyways, Embry called Charlie, who was at the grocery store, and said, "The maze is on fire!"

"Put Mayze on the phone and go put the fire out," Charlie dismissed, clearly not hearing him right.

Embry noticed this too, and he frowned. "No, Charlie. The maze is on fire!"

"Mayze is on fire?"

"No, no, no!" Embry exclaimed quickly. "No, Charlie. _The _maze is on fire—as in it's a huge hit!"

It was a little amusing, enough so that I laughed a bit. It was only a bit, though, and I haven't even sincerely smiled since.

Why? Because I keep sinking farther and farther past the light.

I'm in miserable, never-ending pain that burns my soul at night as I sleep those beautiful thirty minutes, since that's all I ever get in anymore.

I love sleep. My life has this tendency to fall apart when I'm awake.


	10. 09: Out

**no time for rambling. gotta go tutor someone.**

**so, here it is. R&R, and i'll post more before i go to bed. :)**

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><p><strong>10. Abracadavers: The Classic Crime<strong>

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><p>November . . . .<p>

The pain was worse than ever as I woke up, November seventh. I looked in the mirror at my reflection, unsure if I was really dead or alive. My pale skin was a sickly white color. My usually shiny white blonde hair was dull, average—white. Even my eyes, which used to always glow no matter what, were dulling down into just blue, not quite ice blue.

Looking into the reflection, I saw an image that disturbed me, made tears form in my eyes.

There's a girl staring at the mirror, not really looking at anything or for anything—just staring. She's a girl longing for love; a girl longing for joy. This girl has everything, but in everything, she has nothing. This girl is hated and loved. This girl is lusted for and trusted. This girl is beaten and bruised and scarred beyond belief. Looking out the window is the saddest girl.

She's a broken girl, scarred and battered but still strong. This girl doesn't trust easily, but when she does, she trusts you with everything she has inside of herself.

She longs for her love, that companion to hold her and love her; that companion she was stupid enough to fall for. But what she feared was more heartbreak, which would mean more pain than she already had. That was the last thing she needed was even more pain.

Yet she wanted to go for it, wanted to have this thing called love, which was almost guaranteed to bring heartbreak. It was just the facts, and she had seen it so many times.

Now it was her turn to go for it; to find this lost love and force him back.

This girl, who exiles herself in order to protect the ones she loves, who curses herself every day for keeping her dark secret that was necessary to keep; saw herself as worthless. In her eyes, she wasn't extraordinary, and she wasn't pretty. She was just a scarred, boring mess who had too much drama and complication in her life for her to find anyone bothering sane.

Unfortunately, this girl I was looking at was me.

There was so much I wanted to say to him. I wanted to look him dead in the eye, even though it'll be the biggest lie I've ever told, and say, "Go ahead. Move on. Forget all of our memories. Forget about me. But when you realize you made a huge mistake when you left me, don't come crawling back to me. I won't be waiting."

Why would that be a lie? Simple. I _was _gonna spend the rest of my life just waiting around for him, absolutely miserable.

Maybe the misery won't be so bad if I can just get over the whole "Blade" thing. Of course, it'll always hurt, but maybe I'll be able to smile without hurting.

I know what it's like to want to die. I know how it feels when it hurts to smile. I know what it's like to hurt yourself on the outside to try to kill the thing that's inside.

The pain was starting to take over my body. I was conscious of what I was doing, but I was trying to direct the pain to physical and away from the never-ending emotional pain. I had to find some way to get through the day so I wasn't just a big pathetic unlovable loser. I would be just a pathetic unlovable loser, not a big one.

Pain is beautiful. When you feel pain, you know you're alive.

The first time, I was scared. I almost chickened out, but when I pulled the blade across my right wrist, I felt _powerful._ For the first time in the longest time, I controlled my pain. I controlled what I felt, and it was such a relief to be able to focus on something other than my internal pain.

Now, I had the urge again. So, I went downstairs and pulled the knife from the sharpener case it came in, the one located in the kitchen. Getting it out was interesting, because Bella was cooking dinner. It was sharpened, most definitely, since it was kept in a blade sharpener. I knew it actually worked. because when I lightly poked my right index finger with it, it started bleeding.

I was testing something too. As I put the blade to my left wrist, which was still completely numb, I felt absolutely nothing. The numbness was moving to my hand and getting close to the end of my fingers.

I had learned where to cut so it wouldn't kill me. I wasn't going suicidal . . . yet. Maybe if the pain doesn't die down in a few months. I can't take too much longer of this.

_No, Mayze. Don't even go there. You know better. It's the weak man's way out . . . you could never do that, and you know it._

On to a lighter note . . . I hadn't cried in a week. I was determined to not shed another tear for him. If he didn't want this pathetic, unlovable loser, then fine. I wasn't gonna just cry about it.

Sometimes, you can cry until there is nothing left wet in you. You can scream and curse 'til your throat rebels and ruptures. You can pray all you want to whatever god you think will listen; and still, it makes no difference. It goes on, with no sign as to when it might release you.

Love hurts.

I say that because I know. Love is . . . or _was_ . . . amazing. It's an incredible feeling to know what he's going to say. It's more incredible the way he had me on the edge of my seat because he was so completely random, I never knew what was coming next. It was hard to explain, but he filled some void in me, and now, without him, I was missing something again. I wondered if it will ever truly, whole-heartedly be filled again. I just didn't want to know what it was like to hurt any more . . . .

I sliced the blade across my wrist routinely, but the difference this time was the location—my numb left wrist that had a mark to prove it had all been real. What shocked me was the sound it made. It was like scratching fingernails down a chalkboard, but worse—much worse. It made an odd sound, that clinking sound a blade makes while being sharpened. My wrist, though, was perfectly fine.

Clearly, I was confused. I started poking around my wrist and anywhere it was numb, only to find the knife was chipping off into pieces. The pieces that chipped off got bigger as I put more force behind it. I gave up, though, when the knife was just the handle.

Why could I not cut myself there?

I guess that's a good thing . . . oh man, I really need to _stop _cutting in general.

What have I gotten into? Exactly the things I told myself I would never be so stupid to get into! Ugh!

I ran over to the mirror, horrified. Charlie had gotten a new bathroom installed downstairs, so he had his bathroom, Bella had hers, and I had mine. In my room, there was new furniture. The rocking chair was there, but he got a bigger bed with a Temper-pedic mattress on it, along with a couple Temper-pedic pillows; a new mini fridge, full of all kinds of Mountain Dews and other carbonated drinks; and a new desk with a really comfortable desk chair. It was great for crying your eyes out in.

Renée was starting to worry about me when I never answered her calls, I rarely ever emailed back, and I rarely ever texted. When I did, they were short and really morbid. She would ask how's life, and I would say it sucks worse than being in the fiery pits of fell.

But, that was honest.

Now that I noticed something was wrong with me, I saw my skin a different color than other parts of skin. My wrist, part of my left arm, and some of my left hand were a silvery white color, and the rest of me was pretty close to that. I looked a lot paler than I should, a lot paler than I used to look.

The front door opened downstairs, and my head turned towards the door instantly. Charlie?

They usually left me alone nowadays. Charlie was skeptical about leaving me alone at the house, because he thinks I'm thinking about going suicidal. Bella just tells him I'm not like that, and I'll get over it soon. She's right, though. I'm not like that.

You know how they say when you get dumped you go through stages—or when you get raped, you go through similar stages? You go through depression, then you're angry with yourself, then you're mad at them, and you finally get over it.

Well, if after four long months I was still in the depression stage, the stage that just keeps getting worse and worse, would I ever get over it? Would I die because the pain is just too much?

I didn't know the answer to that, but I _did_ know I had to try. I had to try harder, for Charlie, Bella, Seth, Embry, and . . . him to get over it. I had made a promise, and whether he really loves me or not, I'm going to keep that promise.

And there's also Emmett, who was due back any time now.

Whether . . . he really loves me or not, I'll always love him. It was an irreversible thing. There was no moving on, no forgetting him, or anything. He said it would be as if they didn't exist, but how could that be true when there's a hole in my chest where my heart used to be? He took it with him, and I constantly dream about his perfect face. I hear his perfect voice . . . .

The way I heard it, it was like it was when we first met. The Southern accent influence I had on him was long gone. He sounded mysterious, like he was from the early nineteen hundreds instead of how he sounded when he left. When he left, he sounded more like he was from the twenty first century rather than the beginning of the twentieth.

And, let's not forget that Auggie was here, now getting kinda big—as big as she'll get anyways, which is only thirteen pounds. She's become my baby—as if she wasn't before—and Charlie lets her stay inside. He absolutely adores her, but he let her stay inside for me. Then, there was also the hypoallergenic thing . . . and the "inside dog" thing she had.

She was a small breed of huskies meant to be indoors.

Wow. Back to rambling? That had to be a good sign, right?

Anyways, I walked downstairs with the same blank face I kept on all the time. It showed no pain that I really felt inside, and it showed no fake happiness. It showed absolutely nothing. I couldn't even fake a smile anymore, and showing the pain would depress them beyond belief.

If they only knew . . . .

It had been Charlie—duh. He had five pizzas on his arm, doing his best to balance them as he shut the front door with a loose balance. The second he saw me, his eyes got concerned. "Hey, Mayze. How are you?"

I swallowed the lump that started building in my throat. It was a question I hated answering, because I had to lie, even if they could tell I was lying. "I'm fine."

Charlie sighed before gently placing the pizzas on the counter. "Bella's having some friends over. Jessica, Lauren, Angela, and Ashley. Do you want to invite anyone?"

"The only people I want to invite that are still here are Embry or Seth," I muttered. We still kept in touch, even in my depression stage. They were both shocked when I first told them, but at the same time, my old "skills" were telling me they were hiding something from me that I wasn't supposed to know.

But, they aren't, because that feeling is just a lie. My whole life has been a lie. If not, Edward was lying then.

I don't know which to go with, honestly. Emmett promised he was lying, but he also promised he would be back soon. Four months later? I'm still here without them.

"Well," he said cautiously. "I think we can make an exception this time. They're like your brothers. It'll be okay this time."

I looked up at him, unable to smile. Without a heart, you just can't smile. I wanted to, because that idea cheered me up a little, but I couldn't. "Really?"

He smiled at me warmly and nodded. "Yeah. You need something to cheer you up. I'll order a few more pizzas. Do you think I'll need to?"

"Probably," I said honestly while nodding, thinking about the last time I ate with Embry and Seth. "Can you get three more?"

"Sure," he agreed before gently hugging me. "Call them up, if you want. Tell them I said it was fine." Then, he frowned. "Then again, I'm not sure how Bella's friends would react to them."

"Probably drool over them the whole time," I mumbled under my breath. "They did that at prom with Seth. Embry wasn't there, which would've made—"

But I stopped myself. I tried avoiding these kinds of memories. Our dynamic cinco was no more. Now, it's the dynamic duo . . . Seth and Embry.

I don't have the spirit or the heart.

Seth and Embry were more than willing to come. They had been at Jacob's house, which was kinda surprising. Jacob wasn't really their biggest fan lately, and they weren't too fond of him either. Sure, they're like brothers, but, they hated the way whenever he _was_ over, he would purposely say something about how E—he left. He would purposely hurt me, as if to prove himself right.

And he would _purposely _remind me that a vampire raped me and left me to die, because that apparently proves him right too.

"Jacob's coming over a little too," Charlie muttered. "I'm not too happy about it, but I have to be fair, you know."

"Oh, come on, Dad!" Bella exclaimed when she walked downstairs, coming down just in time to hear something she really didn't want to. "You've known Jake forever! Why do you hate him so much, yet you just adored her precious Edward, who doesn't even care about her?"

That hit home, deeply into my heart. She had meant to do it too, exactly what she did to me. It was obvious. The way she looked at me with that icy glare was proof she wanted me to suffer, severely.

Tears instantaneously started spilling down my cheeks as I spun to face her. "Yes he does!"

"You said so yourself!" she shouted back. "He doesn't care about you! He never did! It was all a lie!"

"When did I say that?" I demanded furiously. Now, these weren't so much pain tears as they were anger tears. Bella had just officially crossed the line.

"In your sleep," she said simply before crossing her arms too, like mine already were. "And, you don't lie in your sleep."

"Bella, I was having a nightmare," I whispered as more tears ran quickly across my face. They were like a flowing river that couldn't be stopped. You'd need a dam to do it, and I didn't have one anymore.

So much for not shedding another tear . . . .

"Bella!" Charlie exclaimed sternly. "That is enough! Why do you purposely torture your sister like that? It's clear she's upset that he's gone! He cares, or he wouldn't write her every day."

"Uh huh," Bella said disbelievingly, rolling her eyes. "If he writes her everyday, where are the letters? Why does he not call?"

"He doesn't get good service," I lied smoothly. "And, the letters are safely hidden where _you'll_ never find them! They're personal, and I don't want you reading them."

"Right," she scoffed. "Or, maybe, just maybe, the letters don't even exist. Why do I get the strange feeling that you know he doesn't care, but yet, you're hopelessly waiting on him to come back to you?"

"Bella!" Charlie scolded. "That is enough! Not another word about Edward or Jacob. I have no problem with Jacob. He's been like a son to me for as long as I can remember!"

"Then why did you say it like that?" she asked icily. "Just admit it, Dad. You like Edward more than you do Jake, which makes absolutely no sense, since you don't even know the real him!"

My eyes shot wide open, hearing what she was talking about instantly and wishing with all of my being that Jacob hadn't been retarded and slipped. "Bella, don't."

"Bet you didn't know he was a bloodsucking vampire, did you?" she asked angrily as she stepped closer, ignoring me completely. "Bet you didn't know he wanted to kill her!"

"Bella!" I shouted. "Will you shut up?"

"No!" she yelled back. "I won't! He needs to know your beloved boyfriend wants to kill you!"

"No. He. Doesn't," I growled through my teeth. "Bet he didn't know _your_ boyfriend is a filthy mutt, did he? Bet he didn't know he's a werewolf who just can't get to know a person!"

Charlie was just gawking at both of us. He looked freaked, but at the same time, he didn't look mad, at all.

Maybe this fight went a little too far . . . .

"You do realize you have just put his life in danger, right?" I asked coldly as someone knocked on the door. "Now, not only is _my_ life in danger because of your stupid boyfriend and his stupid hints, but now, Charlie's life is in danger because of you and your big mouth!"

"Jake was protecting you," she hissed. "It's not his fault your curiosity put your life in danger. It's not his fault you never listen!"

My eyes narrowed. "It's not _my_ fault he doesn't—"

"Girls," Charlie choked out, which cut me off. "I'm going to go get the pizzas. One of you have a guest. Get the door."

"Probably Jake," Bella observed before brightly smiling towards the door. "Alright, Dad. Have fun."

But he just walked out, not even saying another word.

Jacob was who it was. He walked through the door with a blank expression, like maybe he had heard the fight.

I just crossed my arms as his livid eyes moved to me.

So, I guess the stupid cat is out of the bag now.

Great. What a dangerous little kitty we've now set free.


	11. 10: Changes

**well, it's not much better, but it's not as gloomy. and actually, it's getting close to being like, "YES!" but not quite what you think. that's still a ways away.**

**point is, here's another chapter. :) the night's still young (not even 6) so if i get a review, i'll put the next chapter. :)**

**...moral to that short rant? read it, enjoy it, and review it. thanks! :D**

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><p><strong>11. Last to Know: Three Days Grace<br>12. Cold As You: Taylor Swift**

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><p>Seth and Embry were the next two to come, thankfully. Since Embry is sixteen too, he drove them both there.<p>

It was depressing to see how intact the dynamic duo was. They still consider it the dynamic trio, but I can't seem to see it.

You want to feel happy. You want to smile without it being forced. You want to laugh sincerely. You hate the pain depression brings—hate it. You hate acting happy so no one will see how you really feel on the inside.

Yet you can't help it. You still have to _try_.

I wasn't even sure when Charlie got there, or any of Bella's friends. I was in my room with Seth and Embry, so none of that even occurred to me. At some point, Charlie brought us our pizza, but that was the only reason I knew he was even home.

We were talking, and they were trying to force me to smile. Right now, they've been completely unsuccessful, but they're stubborn little terds, in case you _didn't _already know.

"C'mon, Mayzie-pop" Embry pleaded. "Smile! Cheer up!"

"I can't," I muttered, shaking my head firmly as I continued to pet Auggie, who was laying in my lap and doing her best to cheer me up. "You can't smile without a heart."

"Sure you can," Seth disagreed as he sat beside me on the bed while frowning at me, obviously not liking my statement. He put an index finger on each corner of my lip and forced my lips into a smile. "See?"

I leaned away from him and gave them the teeniest little hint of a smile. The corners of my lips pulled up just the slightest bit, but it wasn't even a smile. It was more like a grimace.

It was an effort, though.

"Not truly. I don't like faking smiles unless I have to for a lie."

"You've gotten really good at lying," Embry observed, sighing. "Maybe you should lie a little. Charlie called when he was going to get the pizzas. He's really worried about you. He seems to think you're getting suicidal." Then, he frowned at me. "And, he also asked me about the fight you and Bella got in right before he left. Did you _purposely_ tell him we're werewolves?"

"I didn't say you were," I said innocently, hugging Pookie close to me for comfort. Auggie had decided to go to sleep, so I was leaving her alone. "I just said that Jacob is, after Bella, being the idiot she is, told him E . . . ." I stopped myself instantly before looking down. "She told him about him."

Embry and Seth exchanged a pained look before they both looked back at me.

"Mayze," Seth said gently, voice almost a whisper and choked with a heartbreaking pain. "You need to trust yourself."

For a second, I gazed up at them, unsure of what they were seeing. Were they seeing that broken girl, that girl that I saw in the mirror? Or were they still seeing just a depressed version of Mayze? She was such a foreign concept, it seemed, and the girl in the mirror was becoming so real, so normal.

Besides Charlie, those were the only two still here I cared about what they thought of me, how they viewed me.

I stood up and walked over to the computer after a minute, avoiding looking either of them in the eye as I did so. What they didn't understand was that there was no trusting myself anymore. I couldn't. So, I told them that.

"Guys, I can't."

"Why not?" Seth demanded, his teeth tightening a little. "What does this have to do with your faith in yourself?"

I turned the computer on before swiftly turning back to him. I knew my eyes were crushed, because I didn't put the usual wall up. Why bother with these two? They can see right past it, differently than anyone else—besides . . . names we won't mention.

"All my life, I thought I was a human lie detector," I explained, voice raspy and hoarse. For some reason, preparing myself for a long speech did this now, even though I used to talk a lot all the time. "All of my life I've thought of myself as the human lie detector. I can always tell, whether I know them or not, if they're telling the truth or lying. Every time he said he loved me, I thought it was sincerely."

I could feel the tears coming back. But, I knew if I cried, I wouldn't be able to stop for a while. The computer was already loaded, so I turned away from them and logged onto the Internet.

"But, I read him all wrong."

"So, you don't trust yourself?" Embry asked disbelievingly. "Mayze, I love you, but that's just stupid. Did the thought that maybe he was lying ever occur to you?"

"Yeah," I admitted. "And, that's what I thought for a while, until, four months passed and there has been no sign of him. Emmett told me that he was lying to protect me, but I haven't heard from him either. He promised he would be back. There's no other explanation."

"Well, there wouldn't be," Seth pointed out before they exchanged another glance, almost as if they were deciding if he should go on. "I mean, if you have been right your entire life, which is most likely the way it is, then he is lying, and he's making sure not to show any sign to give him away."

"He's smart," Embry sighed. "And, he wouldn't want this from you, whether he loves you or not. You need to be happy . . . move on. And I don't mean move on with someone you _used _to care about either. Find someone new, someone you're able to grow a _new _interest in."

"And as for Emmett," Seth added on, shrugging. "Maybe he's trying to work things out. Did you ever think of that? Maybe he lost his phone or something. There's an endless amount of possibilities, Mayze. Remember that."

I logged on to my playlist without a word. I didn't look at them, and I didn't make a sound. I just clicked, without going to my profile—dashboard, sorry—or looking at my picture, on the link that led to my playlists, even if it meant more clicking and more time.

On my dashboard, he was one of the friends, along with his family. My picture was a picture of me and him, and his picture was . . . or it _had_ been one of me and him, but a different one. I was afraid to look though. If it was still that one, it meant he hadn't logged on in a while. If it wasn't, that just proved that he doesn't love me anymore.

Unless . . . .

I shook the thought out instantly. There was no way I was gonna let myself get hurt again. I wasn't going to let myself believe the lie anymore. I _wasn't_ a human lie detector, and, as much as I wish he did, Edward doesn't love me.

"Yeah, well, guys," I finally said as the song _Forever & Always _by **Taylor Swift**, the piano version, came on. I scoffed. "Funny how it all works out, right? One minute you think you'll be with someone forever, or until you die anyways, and the next, he's only God knows where, and you've heard nothing from him. Hell; you don't even know if he's happy, sad, or completely miserable."

There were so many songs that represented my life now. I still, after all this time, can't believe how swiftly things changed. They go from perfect to great in a week and then from great to absolutely horrible in a day.

In reality, I'm slowly losing my mind. Underneath the guise of a smile, gradually I'm dying inside. People who really don't care ask me how I feel, and I lie convincingly, 'cause I don't want to reveal the fact that I'm suffering. So I wear my disguise 'til I go home at night and turn down all the lights, and then I break down and cry.

I can't go on like this much longer, but I can't kill myself.

_What now?_


	12. 11: Secret

**la. :)**

**more sadness, but a little optimism? i don't remember exactly, but i remember what happens in this chapter. then i read the end, so it's a sad chapter mixed with optimism, i guess. lol**

**baha. listening to the Lonely Islands while getting ready to post a chapter is amusing. XD**

**now...**

**R&R for more. :) i have more chapters up, and i can upload from my phone if the document's already on there. so, if i get reviews while i'm away, i'm pretty sure i can still update.**

**either way, review, and i'll update before the night's over. :D**

**...AFTER i tell you that this is another chapter song i recommend listening to. i'm not a huge Adele fan, but i freaking LOVE this song. just sayin'.**

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><p><strong>13. Set Fire to the Rain: Adele<strong>

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><p>Charlie didn't believe Bella. He did about him being a vampire and about the fact that Jacob was a werewolf, along with all the pack, but he didn't believe he didn't care. According to him, the way he looked at me was enough to disprove that. He said he could see he really did.<p>

Too bad he doesn't know how well he lies, 'cause he really is a damn good liar.

School the next Monday, like usual, was boring and never-ending. It went longer, though, this time, because I had made after-school plans with Seth and Embry.

I was still in depression mode, but I figured out that if you don't even _try_ to get out of it, then you never will. The more I try, the more likely I am to get away from the pain, to finally get over all of this. Well, at least get to where I'm partially happy again.

I don't necessarily want to be happy. I just want to stop feeling miserable.

Today, Seth, Embry, and I were just gonna hang in La Push and have fun. Seth was bringing a cooler of drinks—not alcohol, of course—like Mountain Dew, some Voltages, a couple Pepsis, and a Dr. Pepper. Embry was bringing pillows, blankets, matches, and chips and dip. I was bringing the good stuff.

Sour gummy worms, sour Skittles, gummy bears, Peach-O's, M&Ms, Three Musketeers, and warheads—for the win! I got _tons_ of candy, so we would each overload on it. It was gonna be great . . . .

I think. It would be the best time I've had in months anyways.

Bella had gone home with Jessica to study for their Pre-Cal test they had tomorrow. I had one too, but I already knew everything. When you can't do anything without bringing back memories you're afraid to bring back except study, that's what you'd do too.

_Cold as You_ by **Taylor Swift **was playing on the radio as my cell phone started ringing. It was _For a Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic_ by **Paramore**, which showed me who it was.

Embry.

Nowadays, the only ringtones I had were ones that were for _him_. Things like _Forever & Always_ by **Taylor Swift**, the piano version, which is Charlie; _Cry_ by **Kelly Clarkson**, which is Seth; and more stuff like that too, were all I had anymore.

"Hello?"

"Mayzie-boo," Embry said quickly. His voice sounded quick and sorta regretful, almost like he would be wincing if he was here. "Hey. About today's plans . . . ."

"You have to cancel," I sighed before nodding, looking down at the steering wheel and doing my best to stop the tears. Right now, I was fragile, for all three reasons—mostly Blade and E . . . the first one. I mean, I had lost an entire family, and that same day, I lost something I could never get back, something I was saving for my husband—that one special person.

That one special person I lost not even two hours before . . . .

I blinked the memories away, shaking slightly as usual. It was an uncontrollable thing, flashbacks and shaking. "Uh, yeah, that's cool, I guess. We can always go some other day."

"No," he said swiftly. "I'm not cancelling. I'm just saying we're gonna be a little late, because . . . well, no one knows this yet, but we're already here. Mayze, you're not gonna want to hear this, but I just smelled three different vampires."

My throat instantly tightened, at just the mention of that word. Instantly, my mind was dividing into two different possibilities: friend of foe. "Were they familiar?"

He sighed. "Yes, but none of them were _that_ familiar. Mayze, I think it's the three we didn't kill from earlier, because they're the only other vampires I've ever been around besides _them_. So, we're gonna check it out, and meet us there about seven. Is that cool?"

But I couldn't reply. As he had been talking, my breathing had sped up and my heart began pounding in my chest.

"Mayze," he said quickly. "I know you're probably freaked, but they won't hurt you. They might've already left. We're gonna protect you. Seth and I aren't planning on telling Sam unless we absolutely have to, so we'll need to talk to Charlie and make sure Bella doesn't know anything about this."

"Why not tell Sam?" I asked blankly as I started taking slow, deep breaths; doing everything in my power to calm down and not let it affect me.

There was a pause on the other end, about three seconds. "He doesn't approve of protecting the ones who don't want protection. He thinks when you so-called chose them over the pack that you chose not to be protected against them. If we tell him, he'll order us to leave you alone and let them kill you."

My teeth clenched together as I continued down the road, now pissed. "What happened to your supposed to protect the people?"

He sighed. "He says we can't force protection on people, and you chose otherwise. Sam hates you, and I don't know why. No one but him does."

"Well, honestly, that's not my problem," I said simply as the anger faded a little. It was weird. Being mad . . . I didn't notice the pain as much. "I'll meet you there at seven. Tell Sam I said to go screw himself, because, personally, I don't even care! Just . . . fine. Embry, you and Seth don't need to do anything to get yourself in trouble."

The pain was back again. Thinking about vampires in general, especially ones that he had saved me from, was just too much. I was hurting worse now than I had been when he told me he didn't love me, because not only was that starting to finally sink in, but I was alone now, and I was still scarred.

Tears started spilling down my cheeks. "I'll protect myself."

"Mayze!" Embry exclaimed.

But I just slid my phone shut and pulled over on the side of the road. I didn't stop for long, though. The pain was taking over again.

I just had to do something. I didn't know what I wanted to do, or what was about to happen, but maybe the more pain I forced upon myself, the quicker it would all just go away. Maybe I would die of a broken heart; maybe the pain would stop and I could smile again.

So, I drove to a place I promised myself I would never go to again. I was gonna go to the house next.

His meadow. He always liked coming here, away from the world. It was a beautiful place, and he could have a clear head here. No one was around.

It was also the place I had first seen him in the sunlight, the place he told me everything about vampires that I didn't know, and just . . . everything. It had been his most special spot, and I was the only one who knew about it.

His meadow.

In his meadow, I saw that vampires—the kind his family are—don't look much different in the light. The normal vampires sparkle in the sunlight, but the others are able to blend more easily. They can't completely blend, but if they're careful and the sun's not _too _bright, they can be around other people. Their skin just shimmers a little, kinda like a mirror.

It was a pretty long walk to his meadow. The house would probably have to wait, since I had a date with Embry-bear and Sethikins at seven, and this walk would probably take a few hours to get there, suffer a little, and get back.

The song _Pain_ by **Three Days Grace** came to mind as I walked. It was how I was feeling right now. I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all.

As I had suspected, the walk to the meadow took about an hour, probably. It was a few miles into the woods. Since I had no clue how to get out, I would mark every tree I passed with something. The stub of the knife had, ironically, been in my bag, so I used that to slit the trees.

It was good enough, okay?

I sat down on the grass once I was there, exactly where I had every time we came together. I knew it was the exact same spot because I had taken in everything, and I sat in the same spot each time. The grass was just as green; the waterfall straight north that led to a pond still ran just as smoothly. The pond's bank was about twenty feet away from where we usually sat, like always, and for a foot past where the water met, there was sand still. There was no more and no less. It was still absolutely beautiful—no more so and no less so. Now, it was killing me inside.

But, sometimes the memories are worth the pain.

I laid down, exactly like I did when he was there. It was almost exactly like always. I imagined him laying there with a warm smile on his face, his fingers softly stroking my cheeks while one arm curled around me—like usual. He was laying on his side, turned towards me and looking at me as if nothing else in the world mattered; like nothing could ever mean more to him.

I couldn't help but smile back at my hallucination. I knew he wasn't there, because the sun was always out here, like it was now, and he wasn't shimmering. That detail was out of memory, because I didn't see it enough. Maybe twice.

But the smile, the first one I'd given in four months, was joined with tears as I stared at him. The bright smile I was wearing faded into a simple, pained one.

He, in my imagination, rubbed the tears I was now shedding away, and he started to slowly lean in to kiss me again. Of course, he had the same smile he usually did at that time, and his eyes looked "happy."

Then, I couldn't take it anymore, and I just sobbed uncontrollably as I turned around away from the spot, getting his image to disappear from beside me. I couldn't hold it all in anymore. I couldn't just let myself get hurt like this, could I?

I _wanted_ him back, more than I wanted air or water. I'd do anything for it. My heart was still broken in millions of pieces. I couldn't just stay here in Forks while he's off somewhere. I had to find him, somehow, and I had to tell him how I felt. I would tell him exactly what had been happening, and I would demand the truth. Whether he really did love me or not, he had to pretend some more.

"Don't be sad," I heard his beautiful, cherubic voice say gently, almost pleading with me. It didn't sound like it was coming from any direction. It was more like it was in my head. "Mayzie, be happy, please."

I froze completely, my body locked in shock. My throat completely tightened up as I stared straight in front of me, not allowing my eyes to roam around the meadow just yet. I stiffened as I sat up, sitting up being the only movement I made. Even my tears stopped rolling on my cheeks. They were just frozen there.

With a lot of struggle, I turned and looked all around me. There was hope inside of me that just got killed, and the tiny pieces of my shattered, fragile heart exploded into smaller, tinier pieces, which I didn't even think that was possible at this point. "Edward?" It came out brokenly, choked, and strained. I'd been trying not to even think about it, much less say it. Saying it hurt worse than I had imagined it would.

But I got nothing. More tears started pouring down my cheeks as the ones already there rolled off my cheeks.

He wasn't here; this wasn't worth it.

No . . . I'm so stupid.


	13. 12: Only One

**yay! this chapter isn't quite what you might think when i say it's awesome, and you (if you're like me XD) will be happy at the end of it.**

**idk if that actually made sense, but it made sense in my head, so i hope it did out-loud.**

**point is, R&R for more. :) you'll (hopefully) want more after this.**

**...random thought. idk if you've noticed, but this part has a lot of Three Days Grace. :D i love them. :) And Breaking Benjamin. And Skillet. And Paramore. And i'll stop there, 'cause i could go on a while...**

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><p><strong>14. One-X: Three Days Grace<strong>

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><p>Saying his name brought the pain I had been hoping for, plus the added pain of the meadow. But now that I got it, I wanted to take it back. It was worse than I had thought it would be; much, much worse.<p>

Hearing his voice for the first time in so long . . . I'd almost forgotten what it sounded like. I would spend my days remembering what his perfect, cherubic face looked like, but I didn't think to remember his voice. I couldn't forget, though. My dreams had dimmed everything, and I was sure even my wild imagination had some negative effects on it too.

There was a problem though. It's been so long, my memory of him is fading. The dreams are getting harder to see clearly, and they're coming less often. They're not as long either, and my human memory fades away.

I try not to remember the last face he had, which probably would've been the easiest, and I try not to remember the faces I _thought_ were his sincere, happy, loving faces. I tried to remember his happy faces, but not the ones where he was happy because of me. I was going for the ones where Emmett would tell a funny joke, or he would just be happy to have his family.

Those faces were the ones I wanted to see, because those were always the honest faces.

I stood up and walked over to a really tall tree. We had been on this tree before, just a few days before he started becoming distant. He had pulled me on his back and climbed all the way to the top, which impressed me, 'cause I couldn't even see the top.

Why did he have to go? Why did he have to make me think he cared? Why couldn't he just pretend a little longer until I died and then find his real love? Why did he have to be so perfect? Why was I so madly in love with him? Why couldn't I just move on, like I wanted to do so badly? Why was my life so horrible right now?

Only the last one could be answered. My life was horrible because he wasn't here. He didn't love me or want me, so he wasn't here. None of my other family was. Even though he had forever, he didn't want to waste his precious time on me.

My eyes wandered up as far as they would go. If I was gonna commit suicide, this would be a great place to do it. I couldn't even see the top, even still.

I started to climb up the tree, but something suddenly stopped me dead in my tracks.

_Careful, Mayze,_ I heard his voice warn. It was twice now, once because I was in pain, and another because . . . because I was possibly doing something that could hurt me? _Don't do anything that'll get you hurt._

I thought long and hard about that. It was because I was doing something that could get me hurt. So, whenever I'm crying or doing something that could hurt me, I hear his voice.

I couldn't stop the mischievous grin that spread across my lips then when I realized this. This was going to be so much fun.

When you've got a reason to do it, why _not_ have fun and be dangerous? Why keep the same boring, safe precautions up?

And, if you have a reason to put yourself in pain, why would you _not_ do it?

I squealed blissfully and ran through the woods, finding anything and everything I could that could possibly be dangerous. I didn't stray past the trees with marks, not far anyways.

There was a fallen tree on top of a lift. It was kinda like stepping up on a really high stair, the way it was flat and even. I started climbing on it for fun. With the tall step up and everything, it was about twelve feet high—something that could seriously injure or possibly kill me, especially if I fell off.

For a second, I stepped cautiously so I wouldn't get stuck in the tree, because that would suck. Hurt? Not too badly. Suck? Hell yeah.

I started towards the edge, ready to jump off. This wasn't gonna kill me, most likely. It might hurt me, but kill me? Nah. I'll remain positive and say no.

_Mayze,_ his voice said sternly, shocking me a little. He sounded really angry too. _Don't you even dare._

I laughed for the first time in as long as I can remember. It wasn't faked either, also a first in a long time for me. "Stop me."

Truth is . . . I wanted him to.

_Mayze!_ he exclaimed, now more fierce and angry. _Don't do this!_

"I'm doing it," I taunted as another smile spread across my lips, a wicked, mischievous grin. "Don't even think I'm not. You're not here to stop me. So, hey? Why not?"

_Elizabeth Malia Swan, don't do anything stupid. You're not what you would call graceful or lucky. This could severely hurt you._

"Right now, I really don't care," I said honestly back, shrugging. I had officially lost it. I was talking to the voice in my head, yet it didn't bother me.

I'm crazy. That's the only fitting answer I can come up with to fit my problem. I'm literally going insane without him. It was all the more reason to have him back here with me, all the more reason I could give him when I hunt him down and force him to come back with me.

_Mayze, please_. His voice was softer now, gentle. It sounded like it had at prom when he was pleading for me to want something else. It was an irresistible sound you couldn't help but do what it asked—at least while it was being used. _For me, can you please get down?_

I looked down and sighed deeply. So much for that. "Fine." My voice was stubborn, like a little three-year-old being told to come inside and wash up for dinner when she was having fun swinging—the time of her life, it seemed.

Slowly, I started to climb down. I made sure to do it very carefully, because I knew he didn't want me to hurt myself. Or, the voice at least. _He_ probably doesn't care either way. The only reason he might care if I killed myself would be because it would be his fault and he _might_ feel guilty.

_There we go_, he said encouragingly, once I was safe on the ground.

Reluctantly, I walked back towards the meadow. The pain had faded some now, and maybe, if I was hurt again, his voice would comfort me.

I just stared at the spot where he'd laid. I could imagine him laying there, all happy, and then I imagined the strawberry blonde girl from my dream laying beside him, in my place. He was stroking her cheeks softly, like he had done with me, and he had the same smile he had for me.

Tears started streaming down my cheeks again. All I wanted was for him to be happy, so maybe there really was this vampire that he knew. Maybe he really did love her, and maybe he was happy with her. She could be with him forever, like he wouldn't let me be. She could be with him in every way possible.

I couldn't.

If he was happy, then I was fine with it and would learn to accept it.

_Be happy_, I heard his voice say in the same tone he had said it when he was . . . when he told me . . . when he said he didn't love me. _Move on_.

But I couldn't. That was the problem. I _couldn't_ be happy without him. I _couldn't_ move on, and I really had tried. I _couldn't_ ever forget him. I would grow up old and alone if it meant never having to move on. I would never move on, ever, and he could just get over it.

"Hello," I heard a familiar voice say. "If I'm remembering right, which I usually do, it's Bella, right?"

I turned sharply to see Laurent standing behind me. He had been the one to warn me about Dusk, and he had been more helpful than he even knew. He had a soft, gentle smile on his lips, and his eyes were a greenish color, much gentler than the burgundy he had had the last time I saw him.

"No," I said honestly before smiling at him the biggest smile I could offer—not much at all. "It's not Bella. That's my sister."

"Mayze!" he exclaimed. "This is great. I went to Forks to look for you, but I couldn't find you. You just inspired me in ways you don't even know."

I looked down with the same tiny smile on my face, unsure of what he meant. "You were so much help. I mean, I don't even think you realize either, but you saved my life."

He just smiled in return, but I could see a pain in his eyes—regret even. "I came to spare you, Mayze, to help you again as thank you for everything sort of gesture. A beautiful girl like you doesn't deserve what's coming for you."

This hit home as I looked up. Shock was apparent on my face as I stared at him. "What do you mean?"

"You remember Dusk, I'm sure," he started before looking deep into my eyes. It was like he was holding me here while he talked.

I just nodded, unable to actually talk.

"You know how, let's say, Rosalie, has her mate, Emmett , right?" he went on.

Suddenly, there was a lump in my throat that caught me off guard. Of course I did. I remembered them all. I couldn't talk around the lump, so I just nodded again.

"Well, Rosalie would do anything for Emmett, as he would for her. They would protect each other with their lives," he concluded. His voice was nervous, maybe even scared as he released my eyes. "Dusk had a mate too."

A thought occurred to me, after he said this. It was a brief thought, but a thought, nonetheless. If the word vampire hurt, shouldn't it hurt worse to see one? I mean, it really didn't hurt me at all. It didn't add or take away pain.

Then, thought number two . . . Dusk's mate . . . Blade . . . .

I felt tears brimming over the edges of my eyes. "Blade . . . ."

"Yes," he murmured, voice now full of that pain that was in his eyes. He seemed confused, maybe as to why I was crying? "Since Edward killed her, her mate is coming to kill his. You."

I grit my teeth as I looked to my left, away from him anyways; I wasn't crying anymore, but the tears still remained on my cheeks. He had it all wrong, so wrong, and so did Blade. Before, I hadn't known just why he was doing what he did, but now, I knew. He didn't get it, though, because he thought that Edward cared. What he didn't know was that Edward doesn't care, not about me.

"I'm not his mate. He never loved me."

He smiled warmly as he put a hand encouragingly on my shoulder, almost as if to reassure me and comfort me; something I needed desperately, even if I didn't realize it. "Mayze, I can assure you, that's not true. He's always loved you, and that can never change. It's a vampire thing. We can only love once. And, the way he looked at you . . . I've never seen a couple so in love. He cares about you, more than you could ever know."

I froze completely. This wasn't what I wanted to hear, at all. I was tired of the lie, and I wanted away from it; far away. "He . . . doesn't love me. It was just a lie. I haven't quite figured out the reason behind it, but he doesn't love me."

"He does," Laurent insisted gently. "So, it's a shame. He'll probably come and kill me for this, but I have no choice. If it means dying, fine. You don't deserve it."

"He doesn't care about me," I said firmly as I looked back at him. My eyes were firm, along with my expression. I couldn't let any part of me believe this, even though my heart already had. My head knew better, and the billions of pieces of my heart were already set up to break some more. "He never did. Don't worry about anyone coming after you, except _maybe _a pack of wolves . . . ."

Laurent sighed and shook his head, as if to make a gesture that was saying I was wrong. "Well, I hate doing this to you, Mayze, either way, but you really don't deserve what Blade is going to give you, so I have no choice. I'm sorry, but, there's no other way for me to thank you." Then, he was immediately beside me. "Will you ever forgive me, Mayze?"

I realized now what he meant as he gently grabbed my left wrist. He was setting me free and sparing me my life, without me having to do it myself and hurt the ones I love even more. He was giving me a chance to get away from all the pain and sorrow, that escape I desperately needed.

I smiled encouragingly at him as I let out a short, soft laugh. "I already do. Thank you, Laurent, for actually caring."

But now, his eyes weren't on me. They were on my numb wrist, which he still had in his hands gently. They looked confused as his head tilted to the side only slightly. "What . . . what happened here? I mean, I see the bite mark, but . . . if it didn't change you . . . why can I not smell blood there?"

I sighed before shrugging. "E . . . we think she hit a nerve or something, which is why I can't feel it. It's spread, though, so I don't know anymore."

"It smells like . . . venom," he whispered, mostly to himself and so softly that I scarcely heard him. "Did she . . . ?" He now looked up at me with wide, excited eyes. "Did they eject it from your wrist?"

I slowly shook my head as my eyebrows furrowed again. "No. They said it wasn't there, that the bite hadn't injected anything."

He let out a short laugh before looking away from me and back to my wrist, eyes now full of a strange joy. "Oh, but how wrong they were. The venom is there. Has your . . . ?" He looked back up at me. "You . . . I saw you and I thought, _'Wow. She looks different, more beautiful. More pale_.' I had thought it was just the time and you weren't feeling well. This is . . . ." He pursed his lips. "You're as close to a vampire as humans can get, and the process isn't over. Has it spread up your arm?"

My eyes widened as I stared at him. "It's . . . it's in the process of it. It's down to my fingers, and it's up to my mid-biceps that I can't feel. It used to just be the wrist."

"You are partially right," he said before smiling up at me. "She did hit the nerves. I can figure that out by the smell. Don't be surprised, though, by the changes. You'll never fully be immortal or a vampire until this process is over and someone else changes you. You'll have all your human qualities, and you'll be able to tolerate blood. You'll be able to die, though, and you can't move as fast. You'll be stronger, faster, and you'll have better senses than before this own unique change."

"Has this happened before?" I asked slowly, confused.

He let out a short laugh again and nodded. "Yes, to me. I was the only one, until now. When it's over, though, you'll know. Your entire body is numb, and until a vampire injects venom into you, you'll never be able to feel again."

I couldn't help but brightly smile—beam even. "So, will you do it, once it's done?"

It was everything I had ever wanted without having to try!

He smiled warmly and nodded. "Yes. I will. There will be differences in you and regular vampires. You won't be able to smell blood, and you won't ever have a burn in your throat. You can _hear_ blood, unlike most vampires. They can, to an extent, but nothing like you'll be able to do."

"So, will I have human qualities?"

"It depends," he said honestly as he looked at me. "Being clumsy is possible, because I've tripped a couple times, unable to catch myself. That never happened, though, while I was human. If you're clumsy now . . . ." He chuckled to himself. "It'll be bad."

I whimpered before tightly hugging him. "Guess I'm screwed. But, thank you, Laurent, so, so much!"

He smiled again and nodded, making sure to be gentle as he hugged me back. "Any time. I look forward to spending eternity with you. Maybe after this is all said and done, you can meet my Irina."

I brightly smiled. "That'd be great!" My alarm on my cell phone started ringing, and I looked down. "I gotta go. Uh, thank you, Laurent. I'll make sure to tell my friends who aren't werewolves, but they can shape into wolves, to back off of you."

"That might help," he agreed, laughing a little. "Can I have your number? It might be safer for me to leave and just check up every month. Is that alright?"

"Perfect," I said before swallowing the eagerness. "It's 749-714-9078."

He nodded. "I'll remember that. It was nice seeing you, Mayze. If there are any signs of Blade, you let me know, and I will do everything in my power to protect you. I will get all the help necessary, including those Cullens of yours."

I nodded again, but the mention of my family's name—the family who doesn't care about me anymore—hurt, badly. "Do you think you could do me just one teensy little favor?"

"Anything," he promised quickly, voice soothing.

"Can you run me out to my Jeep?" I asked curiously before laughing nervously. "I'm still slow, and I'm kinda in a hurry. I completely lost track of time."

"Hop on my back," he said brightly, squatting down to get low enough for me to be able to do that. Like just about every other guy I knew and actually cared about, he was tall.

For the first time in four months, I was happy. I could honestly say that. And, maybe, with forever, Edward could love me. He wouldn't need the strawberry blonde. I would be at least better beside him, and he would be able to tolerate looking at me.

I just squealed as Laurent took off through the woods.


	14. 13: Clear

**speaking of Paramore...:D I freaking LOVE this song! Since Josh and Zac left, it's the first one they did. (They've done more now, but it was the first) and i LOVE it. it's probably my favorite, or at least at the top of the list.**

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><p><strong>15. Monster: Paramore<strong>

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><p>When I pulled up at the spot we were meeting, Seth and Embry were already there, each with a can in their hands. Seth had a Dr. Pepper, and Embry had a Mountain Dew. From the looks of it, since there were four empty cans beside the cooler, they had only been here a little while. Ten minutes, tops.<p>

And you think I'm kidding.

I hoped out of my car, excitement clear in my eyes and bright smile on my lips. This was too great to stay upset about.

"Guys!"

Embry frowned at me. "You're late. Where have you been?"

Suddenly, though, they both completely froze in their jog towards me—motionless like I didn't even know they could be. They must've smelled Laurent, because their throats tightened. Seth was watching me, eyes skeptical, and Embry looked simply scared.

Seth was the first to speak. "Were you . . . did you run into one of the vampires trying to kill you?"

I shook my head honestly, the smile not fading at all—getting brighter, actually. "Guess what!"

"You're smiling!" Embry exclaimed, temporarily off of the vampire scent, before pulling me into a tight, breathtaking hug. "This is awesome!"

I coughed. The cough even sounded choked, kinda like I felt. "Embry-boo, I love you, but I'm dying!"

He just laughed as he released me, ruffling my hair a little.

"What happened?" Seth asked curiously before hugging me gently, learning from Embry's mistake. "Gosh, this is great! You have no idea!"

I squealed and nodded. "Well, I just found out I'm in the process of becoming a vampire!"

Both of them completely froze as they watched my face, unsure as to whether I lost my mind or not. The look of horror on their faces confused me, to the point I frowned at them.

"This is good news," I informed them, nodding. "Because, now, I'm not dying either. We'll live forever together. When Dusk bit me, Carlisle and Edward didn't realize that there was venom. It isn't in my blood. It's slowly moving up my nerves. That's why it hasn't worked yet. And, well, it never will, but, the one vampire outside of the Cullens who wasn't trying to kill me and saved my life, he's gonna finish it for me, because at that point, my blood won't taste like blood. I'm gonna be messed up, though. He had the same thing happen to him, so he knows what it's like."

They were both just silently gawking at me.

I just said his name . . . and was okay after . . . .

My shoulders fell with that thought leaving my mind as their expressions stayed the same; continued to be that same horrified expression. "Why aren't you happy dancing? Why aren't you excited at all? I thought you two didn't have a problem with vampires."

"We don't," Embry whispered before looking at the ground, eyes narrowing slightly in pain. "It's Sam."

My teeth clenched together. "What did he do?"

"He told us we had to stay away from vampires unless we were killing them," Seth said gently, sighing. "He never approved of our friendship with the Cullens, so he told us to stay away—ordered it."

My eyes narrowed as I handed Embry the bag of candy. In my head, I was about to do something without thinking, go and do something I've wanted to do for a while now. "I'll be back."

"Where are you going?" Embry asked instantly as he blinked and looked at me, eyes now wide as dinner plates. "You can't talk to Sam!"

"And why the hell not?" I asked irately, opening the driver's door and scowling. "I'm not scared of him! He already hates me!"

"He'll kill us," Embry insisted, shaking his head. "You just can't, Mayze."

"Well, can't you just stay away from him?" I asked curiously, getting too hopeful with that statement.

Seth shook his head. "He's the Alpha, the leader. We have to listen to him. The only reason he lets us hang out with you is because he thinks there's a chance to make you hate vampires. If you start coming to La Push with us, he thinks that'll help."

"He can kiss my ass," I said icily before letting out a frustrated grunt. "Why does he have to just ruin everything?"

"He has his up sides," Embry defended gently. It seemed to be his instincts, to defend his Alpha, but I could tell he didn't like it. "But, there are _way_ more downsides."

"Well, I haven't seen an upside yet," I grumbled before taking a deep breath. "And I was in a good mood too. Now, well, Sam's just pissing me off."

"Don't worry about it," Seth said simply before shrugging. "Just forget about it, and while you're a human, let's make the best of this."

"Do you _have_ to become a vampire?" Embry asked curiously. "I mean, I want to have forever with you, but I don't want that to mean I can never see you again. You're our Mayzie-pop, our sweetie pie."

"Our baby doll," Seth finished. "Mayze, you two are two of my favorite people in the whole wide world, and so are Edward and Emmett. I mean—" He stopped himself, midsentence. "Let's just . . . forget everything. Just clear your mind of everything and have fun."

"Good idea," I agreed while nodding, looking down for a minute as the rush of pain surged through my body; the pain attached to hearing their names. I gave them another bright, sincere smile after it passed, though. "You ready to jump?"

_Oh you have _got_ to be kidding me_, the voice grumbled in my head, exactly like he would've done it if he was here. _Do you remember the strongly worded no I gave you?_

I couldn't help but giggle, and when I did, I quickly covered my mouth. "I'm sorry, guys. I've gone way past insane. I have a voice in my head that I'm talking back to now."

_Maybe you should try listening to it_, it retorted, quite snappy.

I just giggled again before grabbing both of their hands. "Come on! Show me how to jump and _not_ kill myself."

Embry and Seth grinned at each other, surprising me to the point I stopped in shock. When I started to ask, they started pulling off their shirts.

"I hope you don't mind," Embry said slowly as he started taking off his pants, smirking at me. He kicked off his shoes. "We typically jump in boxers."

When I looked over at Seth, he was doing the same thing. Unlike Edward, they had six-packs, so it wasn't as impressive to me. But, they _did _have bigger muscles—too big for my taste.

I shrugged before kicking off my shoe and unsnapping my boot. "Just as long as you don't mind . . . ."

"Mind what?" Seth asked curiously as he threw his clothes on the log, looking over at me curiously.

I quickly took off my shirt and threw it on top of theirs. I had on a pair of bright cyan short Soffe shorts, and I had on a, well, I guess you could call it a sexy bra. Renée had gone strictly to _Victoria's Secret_ when I turned fifteen, and she got the really sexy ones for reasons I try not to think about. Honestly, it was probably to try and get us to just be with someone so we won't get married, not until we're older.

Because she would rather we sleep with someone who we're not married to than for us to get married before we're _**at least**_ thirty.

I grinned at them as their eyes bulged. I knew they were trying not to, but they couldn't help but stare. Here I am, their best friend, standing here in a fitting, DD cup, sexy bra—yeah, I finished growing. And, to top it all off, I'm in a pair of tight short shorts. So, I understood. I mean, they're guys.

"This."

With that, I turned around and ran off towards the cliff, leaving them standing there drooling. This would probably hurt, but oh well. I just wanted to live and make the voice talk to me.

"It's easy," Seth said tightly as he walked to the edge. His voice was strained, though, as he purposely looked away from me—at anything _but _me.

Oh yeah. He _did_ have a girlfriend to think about. Embry, on the other hand, was staring at me. He _didn't_ have anyone, yet, so he had no reason to look away. In his words, I'm his single, extremely sexy best friend.

Seth ran a few steps back before running as fast as he could to the edge of the cliff and jumping off. It reminded me of professional divers, the way they started out. Then, he didn't try to dive. He actually landed in a cannonball, which splashed the water up high enough for me to see from where I was standing.

Embry laughed as he walked to the edge. One of the great things about being out here was the only light source we had was the moonlight, so everything looked that much more beautiful. It was a little chilly, since it was November, and I'm sure the water was like ice, but I didn't care. I was going to have fun tonight, no matter what. Today was gonna be the day I needed.

"He's just an amateur," Embry laughed, shaking his head with a grin plastered on his lips. "Watch a pro."

He did the same thing as Seth—took a few steps back, that is—but he ran a little faster off than Seth had. This time, though, he was exactly like a professional diver. He leaped off gracefully and dove down into the water in a perfect dive. Seth was waiting for him, and when Embry came up, the two of them laughed, hit their fists against each other's, and looked up at me.

I peered down at them and frowned, not liking the height of the cliff at all. "How cold is it?"

The second I asked, I knew that had been a really dumb question.

"It feels great!" Embry called back before they burst into fits of laughter again. "Come on, scaredy cat!"

I shot him the bird, and he just laughed even louder, more humorously. Then, I took a deep breath before walking back a few steps to prepare myself for the great leap.

_Breathe,_ I thought to myself, and so I did; deep, long, relaxing breaths that were needed to calm myself. Eyes shut, fists tight, teeth chattering . . . I was terrified. _B . . . breathe_.

_Don't do this!_ Edward's voice shouted at me, catching me completely off guard, although I should've expected it. _Don't even think about it, Mayze! Think through what you're about to do!_

My eyebrows furrowed at the two contradicting sentences. "You just confused me, so, I'm about to jump."

Right as I took off and actually jumped, his voice screamed, _Mayzie, please!_

It distracted me, though, to hear him call me that and beg me with such intensity, because he had done that before, once, and it _killed _me. So, instead of attempting to dive or do anything, I just fell straight down.

"Mayze!" Embry exclaimed when I was really close to the water. "Don't straighten your legs!"

Before I could react and change how I was falling, I hit. Since my right leg could move, it twisted so nothing would happen. But, my left leg . . . .

It snapped all over again. It was another _not_ clean break. That was something I could tell by the way it felt. I doubted it would require surgery, but who knows anymore?

"Damn it!" I grunted as I came up. "My leg wouldn't move!"

"Did it smash against the bottom?" Seth asked softly with nothing but concern in his voice as he swam closer, preparing to pick me up.

I nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine, though. I can snap it back into place. They put some screws or something in there so if it broke again, snapping it back into place would align it right, and I could just let it heal from there."

They both winced.

"Maybe we should get you home," Seth suggested nervously, biting his lip in remorse. "I mean, Charlie might get mad."

I sighed. "If I'm out too late, yeah. He won't get mad, though, that I broke my leg." Then, I frowned. "Let's _not_ mention how I did it."

They both laughed, and in unison, said, "Agreed."

I blinked, shaking my head at the two playfully. "You two have got to get some more friends."

When I got home, I had the same smile on my lips as I had had since I talked to Laurent. Now that I could think again and have a not-cleared head, I was happy—no. I was _overjoyed_ again.

My hair was wavy, since it was still wet. It was also raining outside, and my leg was sorta hurting, since I popped the bone back into place before leaving La Push. The pain had died a lot, though, compared to what it had been before I fixed it and right after.

I had on my shirt again. I figured that would be the smart thing to do . . . with Charlie and all . . . .

"Hey, Dad," I said cheerfully as I walked into the living room and sat down on the couch beside him. Well, I was in the seat on the couch closest to his favorite chair, which is where he was sitting. "Whatcha watchin'?"

He immediately flipped the TV off and looked over at me with furrowed eyebrows, almost as if he was seeing a ghost. Either way, he didn't believe what he was seeing. "Are you . . . smiling?"

I nodded and hugged him. "Dad, I'm finally over it. I mean, of course, I'll always love him, and I'll always miss him, but, I'm finally past the depression."

His eyes lit up as a bright, toothy smile flashed across his face too. "I'm glad. This is how he would prefer you are."

I let out a sigh of content as I nodded and stood up. "Yeah, it is. He actually told me to, but, you know me."

"Stubborn," he agreed before shaking his head. He was grinning at me though.

I laughed and walked towards the stairs. "Yeah. I am."

And from downstairs, I heard my phone ring. Charlie was grinning, but I decided not to ask, in fear I might miss it. What if it was Embry? Seth? Laurent?

So, I just painfully hurried upstairs to my room to get it.

When I got to my room, I realized something. That ringtone was one of the ringtones I refused to change. All of the Cullens' ringtones were ones I had _refused _to change. So, when I heard _Bring the Ruckus _by **Manafest**, I knew who it was, to the point I just couldn't answer it at first.

He . . . he . . . he . . . .


	15. 14: Surprise

**i LOVE this chapter. still not for the reasons you would think, but ahh. :) i love it. you (hopefully) will too.**

**R&R for more! :)**

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><p><strong>16. Light On: David Cook<strong>

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><p>"Emmett!" I squealed, louder than I remember saying anything in the longest time. It was the first thing I said, because why bother with hellos?<p>

Auggie was asleep on my bed, but when she heard that, she popped up with her tail wagging violently. Not only was she happy to see me, but she knew who Emmett was. She loved him too. She got so excited that she actually barked.

"Emmett! You, and I, and you . . . Emmett!"

His deep booming laugh stopped me from freaking out further. "Hey, Mayzie! I've missed you too, baby doll. Tell Auggie hey for me."

"Where are you?" I demanded. "You promised you would be back, and it's been _four months_! You're gonna miss my seventeenth birthday if you don't hurry!"

He laughed. "Relax, Mayze. It's still November. Your birthday's not until December."

I couldn't help but beam. "You remembered."

"Of course I did. You're my baby doll, my Mayzie-pop."

"You still didn't answer my question," I reminded him, right as Charlie said,

"Mayze!"

He let out a sigh. "You're right, Mayze. I didn't. And, you see, about that . . . we kinda . . . well . . . ."

I walked out of the hallway and into the hallway, where I was passed by a _fuming _Bella. I didn't understand it, but something was pissing her off; something downstairs it seemed.

Auggie, of course, was following closely behind me, so close I could feel her soft fur on the back of my leg the entire way.

I frowned but continued down the stairs. "Emmett, tell—"

But, there was no going on. When I got downstairs, I saw Charlie with that same grin he had when I went upstairs to get my phone. Beside Charlie was Emmett, with, of course, Rosalie beside him. Then, there was Carlisle, Esme, Alice, and Jasper. Alice was happy dancing, Jasper was grinning at me, and Esme looked as if she might cry with joy.

I sucked in a breath as Auggie let out a yelp of excitement and ran over to Rosalie, who was one of her favorites. "Oh my tigers! You guys are actually here . . . in my house!"

Emmett was the first to rush—I'm talking as fast as possible—over to me and hug me tightly, tightly enough that a few of my ribs literally cracked. He heard it too, because he instantly let me go.

"Oh my gosh, Mayzie! I'm so, so, so sorry!"

I winced but shook my head. "Don't be, Emmett."

Rosalie was glaring at him, though, probably at his slip. Charlie only seemed slightly surprised, because he knew about vampires. He just didn't know about what they could do.

Now, I cringed away from Emmett, who seemed to be slightly confused. "Em . . . Charlie kinda knows . . . about vampires . . . ."

"What?" Rosalie screeched, a bone chilling sound like nothing else I had heard from her. "Why did you tell him?"

"I didn't," I snapped, glaring right back at her. "Relax, Rosalie. Bella did, not meaning to."

"How did _she _find out?" she hissed. "Did you tell her?"

I shook my head. "No. Jacob did, but Edward—" yet here again, I found myself freezing when I say his name.

Everyone noticed too, especially when I started lightly shaking. Alice and Esme were the two that came running up to me, hugging me gently in their arms.

"Don't worry, sweetheart," Esme said gently, kissing my forehead softly. "He'll be back soon. I'm not sure when, but he will. We talked to him yesterday, and you wouldn't even believe how bad he is. He is _miserable_—I would almost say dead."

Emmett snorted. "We should call him now and have him talk to Mayze. _That'd _get him back real quick."

Alice's eyes lit up. "Emmett! That's a great idea!"

"As much as I love that idea," Carlisle interjected, shaking his head gently. "Doing that won't prove anything. He has to come back on his own terms. If he doesn't, he'll just do it again later, thinking he can survive without her."

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "As much as you know I don't like you, that boy can't _live _without you. It's really sad."

Charlie's eyebrows furrowed. "Wait. So, you guys didn't leave because Esme wanted to live in the Colorado Mountains?"

Carlisle shook his head. "No, Charlie. Unfortunately, we didn't. If it was that simple, we would've been back a long time ago—all of us. Edward was the reason we left. He wanted to leave to protect Mayze, because you now know what we are."

"Vampires," he whispered, not looking at all afraid. "Yes, Carlisle. I'm aware."

Carlisle gave him a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry, Charlie. I'm sure you haven't gotten a single explanation. My family and I, we're not like other vampires. We drink animal blood instead of human blood, so that leaves us more capable of blending amongst humans. We kept our natural look, for the most part, but humans see us as inhumanly beautiful people. We're very strong, and obviously very fast."

Emmett grinned, looking up at me and away from Auggie for a second. He was kneeling down, petting her while she tried to lick him. "Sorry about your ribs, Mayzie. You okay?"

"I'm fine, Em," I assured him, unable to stop the smile that spread across my lips.

"Edward's gonna be glad to know you're doing better than him," Alice input, trying to lighten my mood even more.

Charlie snorted. "Oh no. You guys didn't see her before. Up until she got home just a few minutes ago, she was like a zombie—literally. Not even Seth and Embry could make her smile."

Emmett laughed. "I knew I smelled 'em on you. What'd they do this time? Was it the impressions?"

I shook my head. "They didn't do anything, not that actually helped. I ran into Laurent."

Everyone in the room grew silent, except for Charlie, who just looked confused. So, he said, "Who?"

I sighed. "Well, Dad, I'm sure you remember that day . . . months ago . . . that ended with me in a coma, the one where I told you I wanted to leave."

He looked down and nodded, eyes going impassive quickly to hide the pain. "Of course I remember."

"Well . . . ." I looked over at Carlisle, and he nodded; a signal I could tell him. "That wasn't exactly what it seemed. I was running away from a vampire. If I left, she would leave you alone; she would leave Bella alone. She became obsessed with my scent, and she was willing to do anything to kill me."

"Why?" Charlie asked slowly, frowning. "I don't understand."

"The hunt is an obsession," Emmett explained, shrugging. "Vampires don't stop until they have their prey, the one they're hunting—even us, in a sense. When we set our sights on an animal, we go until we've got it."

I nodded. "Exactly. So, I was running from her. Well, she caught up with me and nearly killed me." I frowned. "Laurent was a vampire who helped us find her." I beamed up at Emmett. "Guess what."

Emmett just grinned. "What?"

"He's living with the Denalis," I informed him, pursing my lips. "I think he said those are family friends of yours? I don't remember. Either way, they're a vegetarian coven too, and he's learning to be like them."

Emmett laughed. "Cousins, I suppose, is what you would call 'em."

I nodded. "Right. Well, anyways; sorry, Dad. The point is, she bit me." I held my wrist out towards him, the left one that had the silver bite mark—the one that was also more pale than the rest of my body. "As you can see, there's a bite mark. Well, when she bit me, we thought she didn't inject any venom."

Carlisle's eyebrows furrowed. "She did?"

"Yes," I answered softly, biting my lip. "Which kinda explains the different colors of skin I have. You see, Laurent was telling me about this. He knows more about it than I do, but what he said is that the venom she injected was strictly into my nerves. The burning I went through was to replace what normal vampires go through. My process will be slow, and from now on, painless. I slowly lose feeling to every part of my body, and once I go completely numb, I'll either have to live like that—completely numb, one hundred percent—or I'll have to be changed into a vampire."

Rosalie hissed. "What?"

Jasper busted out laughing; a rather maniacal laugh, if you ask me. "He _so _owes me a thousand bucks!"

Alice shook her head. "Not yet. He has to choose to change her for you to win, remember?"

He scowled. "That's true, but he so will. We already knew it would happen."

"Score!" Emmett exclaimed, hitting his fist against mine. "This is awesome! We'll just have one huge party forever and ever and ever and ever!"

I smiled. "Something like that."

"Wait, wait, wait," he said quickly, eyes wide. "Do Embry and Seth know?"

I nodded. "They weren't too happy, but mostly because Sam's a jack—" I glanced over at Charlie, only to find him and Carlisle off in the living room talking; about what, I don't know. Then, when I looked back to Emmett, I was grinning. "Ass."

"You so just wanted to say ass," he whispered, laughing his deep, very loud laugh to go along with it.

"But, he really is," I insisted. "Seriously? He told them they're not allowed to be around vampires unless they're killing them."

Emmett snarled. "That bastard is _so _dead."

"I'm in," Rosalie input brightly. "Anything to kill a mutt."


	16. 15: Confronting the Harsh Reality

**here ya go people. :) rachLA,thank you for you continuous reviews and support. honestly, it means a lot. :)**

**now, please continue reviewing _everyone_. not just rachLA, who i hope will continue to do so. :D**

**right. heh heh. anyways, R&R for more. :)**

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><p><strong>17. I'm Not a Vampire: Falling in Reverse<strong>

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><p>They assured me Edward loves me, but how could I believe that to be true? I mean, think about it. He's not back, and every time they mention my name when on the phone, he hangs up.<p>

What does _that _mean?

I was with Seth and Embry a lot more over the next two weeks, along with the Cullens. I was with the Cullens whenever I couldn't be with Embry and Seth, because we had forever. Embry, Seth, and I didn't.

Once Embry and Seth found out this new revealed secret thing brought me out of my depression, they were perfectly fine with it—other than the fact it took away some of our time.

And, now that I was out of the depression, I came to realize that I _am_ a human lie detector who just couldn't read _him_. Just because I can't read him doesn't mean everyone else has been lying to me. So, I've gained trust in myself again.

I've also realized that it's not my fault what Blade did to me, and just because a vampire raped me, it doesn't mean I'm useless and undeserving of love. I deserve my chance at happiness, and I was gonna get it. If it meant finding Edward once I'm a vampire, fine; but, I would have a happy life.

Since I've gotten out of the depression, I made a few friends at school. Angela and Ben, who were stronger together than ever, were now my friends—friends, not acquaintances.

"Oh my tigers," I said softly as I sat down beside Angela at lunch that Thursday, with Alice on my other side—of course. For some reason, they bothered making up a cover story saying that he was in some kind of internship thing in Alaska, and he would be back soon. They never specified, unless asked, in which case they would say a month.

I don't know why they bothered. He wasn't coming back for me.

"It's weird, you know?"

She laughed as Ben sat down on the other side of her. "What?"

"I didn't realize before but I don't have many friends," I observed, my lips pursing in thought. I gestured to Alice. "They were about the only people I ever hung out with here."

Everyone thought he was coming back for me. Mike, though, still had his hopes that I would change my mind. I wished that I could, but it wasn't possible. He reclaimed me, since him and Jessica weren't a thing anymore. Now, she's with another guy named Connor on and off, which is about how their relationship has been.

And I'm getting into gossip. I _really_ need my Sethikins and my Embry-bear—or a slap from Alice or Emmett. Any of the Cullens, really.

I need more than just them, but I'm trying to go on without him, since he's clearly not coming back for me.

Bella sat angrily across from me, giving Alice a soft, gentle look, before instantly glaring at me again. "I have to talk to you."

I looked over at her, frowning. "Alright then. Talk."

"Alone," she said icily before standing up and walking out of the room, leaving me behind to wonder. She was mad about something—obviously—but I didn't know what.

My eyebrows furrowed as I stood up. As if I could read Alice's mind, I murmured, "I have no clue what's up with her." But, I followed after her anyways. I didn't really want to, but the curiosity was getting the better of me.

She went into the girl's bathroom in the hallway, so, of course, I followed her.

"What?" I asked curiously. She was checking every stall to make sure we were alone, and I watched her dubiously—uncertain what was bothering her and why she was being so discreet.

Then, once it was clear, she locked the bathroom door. "What the hell, Mayze?"

My eyebrows furrowed. "Uh, what are you talking about?"

"You're a vampire now?" she hissed. "Are you really that obsessed? I mean, honestly, Mayze! Where is my normal, awesome, _sane_ sister?"

"What?" I asked loudly, almost screaming. "Okay, so, let me get this straight. You just automatically assume I'm insane over something that wasn't even my fault?"

"How could it _possibly _not be your fault?"

My teeth ground together as I folded my arm across my chest. "It was from six months or so ago, maybe seven. And, besides, when did _my life_ become any of _your_ business?"

"You're becoming a monster!" she exclaimed. "That's when! And, Mayze, this _is_ your fault, completely. It was _you_ who chose to go with Edward, who doesn't even care about you!"

That hit home. Even though I was out of the depression, it still hurt to be reminded of that fact. Of course I knew this, but I didn't need to be reminded.

Tears started sliding down my cheeks, but she didn't care. So, I looked down, away from her. "Yeah, well, Bella, you're just mad because now you have to live with me forever."

She completely froze where she was, shocked beyond belief at my statement.

I looked up at her, eyes cold as ice. "Yeah. I said it. It's something I've been thinking these past few months, Bella. I'm suddenly not important. When I needed you the most, you weren't there. I needed you, Bella! I needed a female to comfort me." I burst into tears, my teeth grinding together to try and stop it from turning into uncontrollable sobs. "But you weren't there! You haven't been there for me for the past seven months, Bella, and I don't know why! I'm your sister, for God's sake! I've always put aside the fact that you're dating a werewolf without hesitation, but you could never do the same for me. You could never care enough to look past him! Bella, I . . . ." I closed my eyes, but the tears continued to pour. I was now calmer, but the tears didn't stop. I had something to say, and I wasn't sure I if could say it and look her in the eye without breaking down. "I hate you. I hate the new Bella, the one where Jacob is in the equation. Where's my sister, the one who said we'll always be sisters—best friends, no matter what? The old Bella was my best friend in the whole world, but the new Bella is a bitch!"

She just kept her face even and hard as she crossed her arms over her chest, teeth clenched tight. "This has nothing to do with you living forever."

More tears started pouring down my cheeks, but I slowly shook my head to stop myself from going on with much worse. Instead, I said, "You don't even care! I don't know where the old Bella is, but I want her back."

"She left when her baby sister threw her life away to be with some heartbreaking, bloodsucking monster!" Bella screamed harshly in my face. "She left way before he did, and until her sister starts listening to her, she won't be back."

In that moment, I wanted to forget everything. I wanted to forget Bella's changes. I wanted to forget vampires. Most importantly, I wanted to forget Edward because hearing her say that wouldn't have bothered me if I didn't remember what she was talking about. Things would be back to the way they were, and there wouldn't be any more misery.

But the problem is you can't force yourself to forget something so huge and life-altering, something that's changed your heart and mind and every piece of you in such an everlasting way. In order to forget, something happier and better has to take its place, and I'm not gonna find anyone or anything that does that.

Even though I had tears in my eyes, I was able to look her in the eye and say, "Then she's not coming back 'cause her sister's not listening when she has no idea what she's talking about." With that, I stormed out and towards the office. I didn't care that I was walking through the halls, crying like a little baby. That didn't matter to me. I was too much of a wreck to go on through school.

I walked into the office, and the great thing about Miss Cope was she absolutely adored me, ever since she found out Edward and I were together. When he left, she loved me even more. It was weird.

She gasped once she saw me, and concern was obvious in her eyes and on her face. "Aw! Mayze, are you alright, dear?"

I swallowed and nodded. "Yeah. Uh, my leg. I re-broke it Monday, and, uh, it's really hurting. Do you think it would be alright if I went home? The pain is just . . . ." I shook my head slowly.

"Go on, dear," she said gently. "Would you like for me to get you a pass for the rest of your periods?"

"Yeah," I said softly before forcing a smile. "Thanks."

Alice walked in the office right about then, which shouldn't have surprised me. She was looking at Miss Cope with a smile, but I could see something else in her eyes. "Hi, Miss Cope. I really don't think Mayze needs to be driving with her leg and such. Would it be alright if I took her?"

"Of course, dear," Miss Cope murmured, smiling right back at her. "I'll get you a pass for your classes too."

Alice's smile brightened. "Excellent. Thank you so much." She frowned and held her hand out. "Mayze? The keys?"

I knew what she meant, so I just let out a scoff—smiling slightly, of course—and pulled the keys to the Jeep out of my pocket, since I had them.

She handed them to Miss Cope. "Can you make sure Bella gets these? I'm not sure where she is exactly, and Mayze really needs to get home and rest her leg."

"I'll be sure she gets them."

"Thank you," Alice said brightly before her cold hands came up to rest on my shoulder to lead me out of the office. Once the door shut behind us, she sighed. "Don't worry about Bella, Mayze. You two will be fine again soon. I promise."

I sniffled. "Alice, how can you know that? You can't see her future."

She nodded. "That's my point exactly. Our future disappears sometimes. Why else would it disappear if she wasn't in our lives at some points?"

"Embry and Seth," I reminded her.

She frowned. "Either way, I just know, okay? Don't worry. I know she's a bitch now, but just like you and Rosalie, you and Bella will be close someday; sisters."

I snorted. "Alice, I seriously doubt Rosalie and I will _ever _be even _slightly _considered friends, much less sisters."

She grinned at me. "When you and Edward get married, you'll be sisters by law. But, I mean it'll feel like you two are sisters, more so than you and I are now. It'll be a friendship bond like no other—except for the bond you and Emmett share." She giggled. "It's tied with that one."

I felt my phone vibrate in my back pocket, right as I started to reply, so instead of replying, I pulled it out, only to find a text from Jacob.

_You really don't have any room to talk, you know._

I rolled my eyes and replied with, _**Shut up, Jacob. I really don't need a lecture from you, okay? Just leave me alone.**_

_You're just mad because we were right about that stupid bloodsucker. He doesn't even care about you. If he cared, why is his family back but not him?_

My breathing then became struggled, something that got Alice's attention instantly. I was gasping for air as the pain intensified, but I closed my eyes. The rivulet of tears just got faster as I started crying again. See, when it's just tears, it's not considered crying . . . is it?

_**Shut up, Jacob! You can save the "I told you so," for later, okay? You were right; fine. Get the fuck over yourself and leave me the hell alone!**_

Alice took my phone from my hands, reading over the previous texts very quickly, before gritting her teeth. "Damn that mutt."

"He's just protecting Bella."

"And you!" she exclaimed. "What is it gonna take with you? He loves you! Why can't you just comprehend that?"

"Because it doesn't make sense," I said simply. "I'm a simple human, Alice. And, besides. If he did, why does he always hang up whenever my name is mentioned?"

"You don't get it," she insisted. "He's _heartbroken_. This is _killing _him to do what's best for you, Mayze. He hangs up because he doesn't want us to hear what he does. I don't know what he does, but I can tell you that it's not pretty. It's probably really terrible, because even when he's extremely pissed off at us, he _never _hangs up on us—ever. Up until this whole situation happened, he never had. Then, whenever we mentioned your name, he had to, because he knows we'll force him to come back if we hear his pain."

"I'll believe you when he's back," I said softly, looking at the Volvo which I had become so familiar with dismally. "Until then, I just can't."


	17. 16: Telephone

**bum, bum, DUN!**

**here is the next chappy! R&R for more. :) i promise. things are getting much better. i swear. :D**

**R&R. :D**

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><p><strong>18. Not Over You: Gavin Degraw<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>*Edward*<strong>

_You know, Edward, one day, you're going to wake up and realize how special she is—and when that day comes, she'll be waking up next to the guy who already knew._

I sighed as I flipped my phone shut. Thank you, Emmett, for telling me this information that I already knew.

Thanks. That makes me feel great to be reminded that my Mayzie was gonna be with another man someday.

In case he _didn't _know, some of us are just trying to get through the day without falling apart. So far, that hasn't worked; not once. But, I could keep trying, right?

They all asked me why I wouldn't stay with them, but I didn't want them to see me. I didn't want anyone in the world to see me, because I don't think that they would understand. As a matter of fact, I knew they wouldn't.

I logged onto my playlist swiftly before intertwining my fingers and pressing my hands against my chin as sort of a prop. As my profile came up, the picture, everything . . . it was just too much.

I never had the heart, though, to change that. I was hoping she was too broken to look, and she would never know. I was hoping she wouldn't look at my new playlist and see the first song, which is _Runnin'_ by **Jesse McCartney**.

I hadn't even had the heart to change the About Me, which said I was madly in love with my Mayzie.

We had both taken a picture in our Aviators as mine, and in hers, we were both just smiling. There had been no way for me to take that off, though. I've been looking at the changes to her playlist. Let me tell you; some of the songs really hurt. There's _Pain_ by **Three Days Grace**; _Forever & Always_ by **Taylor Swift**, the piano version, which hurt the most; _Sink or Swim _by **Falling in Reverse**; _Come Back to Me_ by **David Cook**; and even more. _Come Back to Me_made me ache even more afterwards, though, because after all of this, she still wanted me? How?

She had changed her picture now, which was good, and she had changed her About Me. Her picture was her, Seth, and Embry all in sunglasses. She was still in her Aviators, which looked just as sexy on her as they always had, and they were in sunglasses too. She looked happy, which was good. Great, actually. I was glad she could be happy without me.

Her About Me said:

**Hi! My name is Mayze. Well, **_**technically**_** it's Elizabeth, but everyone calls me Mayze. (Long story.) I'm still sixteen. Bleh. :/ I'll be seventeen in December, though. Isn't sixteen supposed to be that age that makes you feel free? You feel different when the clock strikes 12:01. Well, lately, sixteen has felt like the worst age I could possibly be. Yeah, I can drive; new problem. Where am I gonna go? Most people, by the time they're sixteen, have a basic idea of where their life is headed. They know where they're going to college, what they're gonna be, and everything. Well, I don't. I don't even know where I'm gonna be tomorrow, or if I'll ever get my heart back. I don't know if I'll ever see him again, or if I'll ever even move out of Forks, like everyone tells me I should. My mom begs me to move to Jacksonville, and up until Monday, my dad was asking me to too. He hated seeing me in pain, but he didn't realize that my pain was going wherever I went, because while losing him was heartbreaking—world shattering even—it's not the only thing killing me inside. I'm just glad, though, I have those six people who pulled me out of the depression and into safety**.

* * *

><p>Bella, Embry, Jacob, Quil, and Seth? That's good to know, but who is the sixth person? Jared? Someone at school?<p>

Doubt it.

* * *

><p><strong>Embry, Seth, Emmett, Esme, Alice, and my new friend, Laurent.<strong>

* * *

><p>Oh my freaking lions. Are you <em>kidding<em> me? Laurent? What the hell is he doing back there?

Why is my family there? I mean, what the hell? They were supposed to stay away! What are they doing?

I flipped my cell phone open again, but I continued reading before I dialed the number. He was supposed to _call_.

* * *

><p><strong>Me and my older sister grow farther and farther apart. Today, she made me cry, and she didn't even care. We've grown so far apart, I don't even know who she is anymore, and I have her stupid boyfriend to thank for that. She'll tell you it was my old boyfriend's fault, but it wasn't. Well, who I had thought was more than my boyfriend. But, there isn't a word to describe what we had, or one to describe what I thought we had. Anyways, I'm not getting into that. I've had enough reminders for the day. If I could summarize my about me in one sentence it would be: I'm just a simple girl trying to figure out where the chips of my life are gonna fall.<strong>

* * *

><p>I had thought it would cheer me up, to see she was happy again. I was wrong, though. It brought me even farther into depression, and I was mad still.<p>

If only Jasper were here . . . .

See, right now, I was alone. I had to figure everything out, like I had told her. I had to figure out who I was. Over these past almost five months now, I've figured that out. Without her, I'm nothing. I'm nobody. I can't survive.

It's sad to say that, but it was the truth. Without Mayze, my life was meaningless; pointless.

I had quite a few calls to make. The first one was most likely gonna hurt the most, and it would be the one that would bring me the most temptation to come running back. But, I couldn't.

"Edward!" Emmett exclaimed eagerly. "Great hearing from you. Usually we have to call you."

"What in the hell are you guys doing?" I hissed. "Emmett, seriously?"

He sighed. "Edward, you're not the only one who loves her. Just because you're being stupid and staying away from her doesn't mean we have to do the same."

"Emmett, I'm doing what's best for her!"

"You only think you are!" he snapped, taking me by surprise. "Edward, you have no idea what's gone on ever since we left! I don't know most of it either, which scares me more than anything else. Mayze is scarred, completely broken hearted."

"I know the feeling."

"And it's _not _just because you left her," he disagreed. "Edward, something happened to her. Charlie told me that he found her in the woods that night, and she was bleeding. She had been beaten, severely, and tortured." He started choking up now. "His guess is she was . . . she was r . . . raped, but he's not sure. She refuses to talk about it."

This was a bad idea. When I prepared myself for a painful phone call, there was no preparing myself for this one.

I had no idea what I could say, what there was to say. It . . . me . . . she wouldn't have been there. I would've been there . . . .

"Emmett, this is my fault."

He sighed. "Stop it, Edward. You don't know that."

"Yes I do."

"How?" he demanded.

"We would've been there to protect her if it wasn't for me," I pointed out, voice almost inaudible and raspy. "She's . . . ."

"You need to come home."

"I can't, Em."

He grunted. "I'll see you soon when you stop being so retarded and come back." Then, it was the dial tone.

Wow. He hung up on me this time. Lately, it's been the other way around.

The time said it was three forty-seven, so I knew it was safe to call now. He was out of school.

I pressed speed dial number nine, after I was over the shock and heartbreak of that conversation, and put the phone to my ear. As it rang, I pressed the play button on her playlist, just to torture myself and cause myself the same pain I inflicted on my Mayzie.

It was so wrong to call her that, but she always would be mine.

_Set Fire to the Rain_ by **Adele** started playing, which hurt the moment she began singing.


	18. 17: Chill

**19. Bury Me Alive: We Are the Fallen**

* * *

><p><strong>*Mayze*<strong>

I decided, to avoid Bella and Jacob, I needed a day out with Embry and Seth again. Of course, Alice insisted I come with her, and I promised her I would, but I needed to be alone for a little bit.

If hanging out with Embry and Seth, or the Cullens, meant I get to avoid this screaming fight we seem to get in a lot recently or the cold shoulder, fine.

I heard the horn to the Volvo honk outside, so I jumped up out of bed and headed downstairs.

Of course, so no one would worry or anything, I quickly wrote a note explaining where I was.

**Hey!**

**Yeah, it's me, Mayze, as you probably knew . . . .**

**Anyways, I was just letting you know, whoever it is reading this, that I'm gonna hang with Seth and Embry today; maybe go to the movies, just chill, or whatever. I'll try to be back by nine, but it might be ten. I'll do my best though. :)**

**Mayze**

With that, I put the paper on the table and walked out to the Volvo. I didn't pay much attention to anything as I walked, including the tree I ran into.

Alice was laughing at me, which confused me. As I hopped into the Volvo, another feeling in the pit of my stomach struck me. Last time, it was on the worst day of my life, but, this time, instead of making me feel nauseous, I felt . . . happy. It actually felt like I had butterflies in the pit of my stomach. Maybe something else good was happening soon, unexpectedly. That, though, would be so great.

Just what I needed.

Alice grinned at me. "I love you, Mayze. You're quite funny, and all you have to do is walk."

I scowled at her, but that only lasted a minute. Instead of holding it, I just half-heartedly smiled. "Glad I entertain you."

_Breathe_ by **Taylor Swift **came on in that moment, dimming my mood even more. Here I was, starting to get happy again, but now, this song plays. Here I go, back to the pain so great that it makes me numb.

Oh how true that song was.

It was amazing to me how simple things seemed, yet they were so complicated. This home, where my family lived and I had lived at one point, was still just as much my home as it ever had been—more so, it seemed. The fact that I was here with my family without him seemed to make it more important. I thought before that he was the only thing bringing me here, and everyone else was just a perk. He wasn't here, but here I was, standing on the huge, marble porch looking at the house and my surroundings in awe.

I let myself wander to the inside of it, surprised that I was still looking at this place as if I had never been here. The eerie feeling was only slightly there, that empty feeling I feared. Inside, I was still empty, but I was happy being empty. Sure, I _wanted_ to be full again, but I doubted it would happen.

Not for a while anyways.

Emmett was glad to see me. They all were. Even Rosalie seemed a little happier once I was there, but I didn't get why. She was still the same, but something had changed in her.

Emmett had talked to me about the most random things, and I had socialized, like normal, but things were different. It was the weirdest feeling I had experienced yet. I was numb, but there was an excitement building up inside of me. I was empty, but I felt as if an entire cage full of butterflies had been released inside of me.

I needed to feel pain again. In this house, anything involving blood was dangerous. Who says they would all be able to control themselves?

This numb feeling I was feeling again sucked, much worse than before. I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all.

Another Three Days Grace reference for the win.

It wasn't so much physical pain that I felt, that I longed to feel anyways. I didn't _want _to feel any pain at all. I _wanted _to feel complete again, but that wouldn't happen without him.

I stood up from the couch, catching Emmett's attention. "Where ya goin', baby doll?"

I knew I walked right past the bathroom on the bottom floor to get to the stairs, but I still mumbled, "Bathroom."

Emmett frowned, clearly not understanding where I was really going. "It's right there. You don't have to go all the way upstairs to the bathroom upstairs."

Esme, on the other hand, did understand. So, she sighed and whispered, "Emmett." After that, what she said was too soft for me to hear, even if I wasn't already upstairs and in the hallway.

_The last room on the left . . . ._

No one had been in there in a while. The way the dust particles still lingered there was a sign of that. Rosalie was in her room, listening to some music. It sounded like she was currently listening to _Just a Dream _by **Nelly**, but I'm not positive. I didn't linger by her door to see.

Alice and Jasper were sitting on their bed, staring into each other's eyes—not saying a word and not touching in any way, other than to intertwine both of their hands together. It was a private moment that I quickly looked away from. I felt like I had to, like they deserved it.

All in all, there were four bedrooms up here, the two bedrooms and then two guest bedrooms. In each room was a bathroom, along with the huge bathroom you came to before you even got to the hallway. Once you got up the stairs, you saw the doorway to the bathroom and the entrance to the hallway.

Carlisle and Esme's room was the master bedroom downstairs, but there were two more down there. Rosalie and Emmett's room was one of the rooms downstairs, and then there was the guest room that they had down there. Alice and Jasper's room was upstairs, in this hallway on the right, at the end across from his . . . .

The door was closed, but I opened it, of course. It was a slow action, and with every second, my heart slowed down. When I finally opened it, it was pounding so slowly, I'm surprised no one got nervous. It felt like there was a complete minute between each beat, but I'm sure that was just me.

It was eerie in here, more so than anywhere else in the house. Like his piano downstairs, it was empty; covered in dust. So many memories were made in here, memories that brought me to my knees. Of course, I was crying.

Thinking through each memory made me hurt that much more. As our love grew—or my love for him anyways—the memories grew more special. The memories we shared in here weren't necessarily passionate, like some of those heated nights in my room. How could they be with his entire family downstairs, or somewhere else in the house able to hear everything that goes on?

They were special, though. In this room, snuggled deep into his arms was my happy place, the thing I longed for the most. I wanted to feel his embrace again—cold, but filling, protecting. I had never felt safer in my life, even knowing that a crazy vampire was after me, seeking revenge.

Just when I thought I was starting to get used to the pain and it would start dying down, another striking memory hit me, something that literally made me jump up, turn, and run away from the room, leaving the door cracked with tears streaming down my cheeks.

I remembered that day we were alone, because they were all hunting. We had talked about things we had _never _talked about before, things I didn't think he would ever be willing to talk about. We talked about changing me, and his reasons why he didn't want to. We talked about marriage, love, and essentially, sex. He had told me that he wanted me, in ways I would never understand, but he also told me that he wouldn't be able to do it without killing me, so it just wasn't possible between us.

That was the basic sketch of what we talked about, because it was too special to explain, to share.

I just couldn't think about it either.

Emmett was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs with a set of keys extended, the keys to his Jeep. It slightly surprised me, but he gave me a small smile, shrugged, and said, "You need to go see Embry and Seth."

That was true, but I needed him too.

"Then, when you're done talking to them, come back, and I'll be here, ready to talk too," he went on, as if he could read my mind, like no one else could.

Except him.

So, without a word, I nodded and kept running to the garage. Esme was giving me a sympathetic, truly concerned smile, and I couldn't help but give her a tiny little smile in return. But, I tried not to think about it as I backed out, speeding down the driveway faster than I had ever gone before.

Being inside his room had brought more pain than I ever could've known possible. It was exactly like I was on the inside—empty and so alone, longing to have life inside again. I pressed the pedal all the way down to the floor, surprised when it went faster and faster as the speedometer needle reached its peak. I was suddenly seeing things fly by me, but I was too scared to stop.

Once I was on the actual road, I decided it would be best to slow down to where I would be able to react. It was a road not many people were on, so I wasn't worried about any collisions. I just continued to speed down the road towards La Push.

I got to La Push faster than I ever had before, which was completely understandable. I mean, I was going faster than I normally did. Since I slowed down to where I could see, I knew I was going one fifteen and no faster.

I pulled my cell phone out of the cup holder and pressed speed dial four, eyes not moving away from the road.

I never could force myself to take him off of my speed dial. A part of my still hoped he would be back and I wouldn't have to, even though my head was scolding that part telling it that it's crazy.

_Dear heart, I'm sorry you get so abused, from every angle. _

"Hello?" Embry asked curiously, after just two rings.

"Hey!" I exclaimed eagerly, almost gasping the word out. "Are you and Seth busy today?"

"No," he said instantly. It sounded like he was frowning, or just really confused. Both were possible, to be honest. "I was actually about to call you and ask if you wanted to come chill today. I'm gonna take a wild stab in the dark and guess that's why you're calling. Am I right?"

I laughed. "You know me oh so well. But, I'm actually in La Push now. I was just doing something probably really stupid, and have you figured out who that vampire was?"

"Emmett said that he thinks it was the girl now after Bella," he said honestly. "But, he's not certain. It was one of them."

I nodded. "Okay. Thanks, Em. So, if it _is _Blade . . . ."

He sighed. "Hurry and get here, okay? It makes me nervous to have you by yourself. When you're with Emmett, I'm fine, and when you're with us, I'm fine. When you're not with any of us? That doesn't go too well. Let's just say I'm talking to Emmett and/or Seth the entire time, and we're all freaking out together. And, besides. I don't wanna have to kick any vampire butt today. I want to chill with my two best friends in the whole world. Hey, is it cool if Quil tags along? Claire is visiting her grandparents, and he has nothing else to do. Do you mind?"

"No," I said instantly, maybe even a little too quickly. "Uh, but, Embry, one quick question."

"Okay," he agreed. "Ask away."

"How did Bella find out that I'm in the process of becoming a vampire?" I asked quietly as I continued staring out the window, almost unsure if I wanted to or not. "We got in a fight about it earlier."

From the way he sighed deeply, I knew that he was regretful and truly sorry, and it wasn't a scary, nerve-wrecking sigh. It wasn't a big deal, whatever it was. "Neither one of us _meant_ to, but we were mentally talking about it while we were doing our nightly run, and everyone else phased. They all heard it, and Sam was _mad_. Jacob was just plain pissed, and at first, they thought it was the Cullens. We convinced them, though, that it wasn't, and they were still pretty mad. But, oh well."

I grimaced. "Sorry I got you two in trouble."

"Nah," he disagreed. "You didn't get us in trouble. Sam _was_ mad that we were spending so much time with someone who's already fated to be our enemy, but we don't care. You're our Mayzie-pop."

"Alright," I said softly, smiling a little at the nickname. I wasn't sure why, but Embry always had a way to make me smile. Well, not always; just since I've gotten over the depression. "I'm almost there. Where am I meeting you?"

"Uh . . . ." he sounded kinda guilty, in just that one long, drawn out word. "We're at Sam's house right now. I'm talking outside. Is that cool? I mean, he wanted us to talk a while, and Jake's bringing Bella. Is it cool if we hang out here for a little while and then go on?"

"Sure," I agreed before laughing. "Personally, I don't care whether they like me or not, so . . . but, as far as I know, Sam, Jared, Bella, and Jacob are the only one who won't like having me there, unless the others changed their minds now."

"They haven't," he said honestly, now laughing too. "Nah. Jared was pumped when he found out his Mayzie was comin' to see him."

I grimaced a little, not liking the sound of that. "Alright. Well, I can't say I'm exactly excited to see him . . . ."

He sighed. "I know, Mayze. Look, I know it's hard, but look on the . . . never mind. I'm gonna shut up now. I'll see you in a few."

"Alright," I agreed before pressing the end button on my phone. When I went to set it in the cup holder, it slid out and into the floor. It went under the seat too, but I was driving fast, so I couldn't get it.

I got to Sam's just five minutes after that. Embry was still outside, along with Seth, but Seth wasn't looking at me. He was on the phone this time.

When Embry heard Emmett's Jeep, he grinned at me and motioned for me to sneak up on him. Seth was so into his conversation and distracted that I really don't think he even noticed, despite how loud Emmett's Jeep is.

Embry had an impassive face on as he looked back to Seth, probably listening intently into his conversation. I wanted to know, so I decided to get out and listen too.

As I approached him as silently as I could, I heard him say, "Yeah, she is. Sorry I didn't tell you before. I promise to keep you updated better. I'm sorry about that. It just . . . totally slipped my mind. When she perked up, I honestly forgot. Well, she's gonna be here soon, so, I'll talk to you later, E—"

I jumped on his back then, which is what cut him off. Instead of finishing the word he was saying, he changed it too, "Mayze! Hi. I didn't hear you come up."

I folded my arms over my chest, giving him my firm look—eyebrow cocked, lips tight. "Are you talking about me? Who on earth is there to talk to me about?"

He just laughed. "Yeah. She is. It's so funny. You never realize it's possible to be as figuratively blonde as she is, and then she proves you wrong. But, yeah. I guess I'll talk . . . ." His eyes lit up suddenly, out of nowhere it seemed. "Finally! It's about time! Alright. That's great, though; honestly. There's a lot I'm not really sure how to explain."

Now, I was curious.

"Who are you talking to?" I demanded, glaring at him as hard as I could. It didn't work out very well, though, because he just smirked at me.

"I'll talk to you later," he promised whoever he was talking to rather joyously, if you ask me. "Bye." Then, he flipped his phone shut. "No one. I wasn't talking to anyone."

My eyes playfully narrowed to slits as I stared suspiciously at him. I was honestly curious, though. So, I looked over at Embry. "Who was Seth talking to?"

Embry just shrugged, right as the door opened. Jared ran outside, along with Quil. If there had been six people in our dynamic cinco, Quil would've definitely been the sixth. But, the problem with Quil is, it's harder for him to get close to the vampires, after being around everyone in the pack. He had been planning on trying to have an open mind about them, but then they . . . you know.

"Mayze!" Jared exclaimed before gently hugging me. "What's up, love? How's it hangin'?"

I awkwardly stuck my hands in my back pocket and faked a smile for him while he hugged me. I didn't hug him back, because I just wasn't comfortable around him yet. "Better. How about you?"

"Eh," he said blankly, shrugging a little. "I've had better days, I guess, but it's pretty decent."

_Meaning Kim's not able to be here with you today._

"What's up, vampire girl?" Quil teased before gently hugging me. I knew, though, that once I was a vampire, he would at least like _me_.

It was good to know.

I just smiled at him and hugged him back. Something about Charlie, the Cullens, and the pack . . . I don't know, but either way, I could always hug any of them without a problem—most of them anyways. Rosalie? Not so much. With Jasper, it was a little uncomfortable, but I still loved getting hugs from him.

And I was _not _hugging Sam, not in a million years.

"Nothing much, Quil. How about you, pup?"

He laughed too. "What can I say? Life's good."

Embry just laughed, nodding in agreement too. "Come on, guys. Let's get in. I smell Emily cooking."

I rolled my eyes but smiled at him anyways. "Of course, Embry. You and food . . . ." I blinked. "Wow. I bet you could get off with nothing but a steaming cheeseburger sitting in front of you."

They all busted out laughing, almost at the same exact second, and I couldn't help but laugh too simply at how much _they _were laughing. It must've been contagious.

"Whoa!" Quil exclaimed. "Who knew _Mayze_, the vampire girl, could be perverted? Who knew she didn't get awkward without talking about it? Her sister is the _complete _opposite. You even spell the word out, and she's blushing."

I smiled sweetly up at him. "No one, because I'm just a little angel."

Embry's eyes widened in horror, and he quickly flung the door open, ushering them all inside. "Guys, go, before the lightning strikes!"

"Ha, ha," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes again. "Hey, Seth, I need to find my phone so if Charlie calls I'll know."

He just tossed his phone to me before closing the glass door and staring at me. They all were just standing there, looking out the glass at me with wide, horrified eyes.

I rolled my eyes but kept the smile on my face as I pressed the green button. Seth had me on speed dial, but I couldn't remember what it was, so since I was the second to last person he had talked to, my number would be right there.

Before I could move down to my name, I saw the most recent name, and I suddenly froze where I was—it was an unstoppable reaction. I had become a statue, so the phone slid out of my hands and onto the grass, where it landed safely on a soft patch. My world suddenly started spinning around.

What was happening?


	19. 18: Flight

**No time for random ranting. i'll keep it simple. R&R, please. i'll put more. :D**

**one rant...i LOVE this chapter. :D**

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><p><strong>20. My Obsession: Skillet<br>21. I Can Wait Forever: Simple Plan**

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><p><strong>*Edward*<strong>

"Hello?" I heard his voice say eagerly as he picked up the phone, happier than he previously had been the last time we talked.

I let out a sigh of relief. "Is she alright?"

"Edward!" he exclaimed, making me blink a little in surprise. "Hi! It's nice hearing from you! It's been . . . a month?"

I laughed softly, but it wasn't so much that I was really in a laughing mood. It was just a reaction to the funny thing he had said. In all honesty, I wasn't in any mood to laugh. I hadn't been for a while.

"Two weeks," I said quietly. "But, I've kept up with her on playlist. I read her About Me to see if she was past the depression stage yet. Is she?"

"Oh yeah," he said honestly, sounding rather pleased with it. I had to admit. I was too. "She's still upset, and some things just trigger that even more, like people bringing up the fact or the fact that you 'don't care' is the worst. But, I think I forgot to mention last time we talked . . . ."

"What?" I asked nervously as I shifted in the chair I was sitting in. By now, anything could be possible, and I didn't like it.

"Bella told Charlie everything," he admitted uncertainly, unsure of how I would react it seemed. "Well, she told him you're a vampire, and Mayze told him Jacob's a werewolf, which he tracked to the pack. He knows, and it's because of Bella. Mayze wasn't out yet of depression when it happened, and Bella just had to make it worse. Charlie, though, didn't care. He _still_ loves you, mostly because Mayze is lying by telling him you write her letters every day. Well, she was . . . ."

My eyes widened in horror. "She was _what_?"

He sighed. "I don't know. I think there's a part of her that's telling her she's right and she's always been able to read you—that you do really love her—but her head is telling her otherwise. So, she's finding a way to satisfy her heart and head by telling him that."

I groaned, clenching my teeth together in frustration. "Why does she do this to me? I don't deserve any of this."

"Yes you do," he disagreed gently. "Edward, you did what you had to for her. Now, of course, I'm thinking _now_ you should come back, because it's not helping anything."

"I wish I could," I whispered as I leaned back against the chair and sighed, my entire body stiff and rigid. "I just wish it wasn't dangerous. I wish I was a human."

"But, even so, Edward, you're not a threat to her anymore. I can't really explain why, because I'm confused on the subject too, but you aren't."

"What happened today?" I asked quietly. This subject was uncomfortable, and I didn't like hearing it. I knew it wasn't true, and hearing it would just bring me to her. I had to stay away for her. "She put something on there today that said Bella had made her cry, and she didn't care."

He let out a deep breath, and he was quiet for a few moments, before answering. "Well, I'm not really sure of the details. All I've got as of now is what Jacob has to say about it, but I'll let you know once I know more. Bella hasn't helped her at all, as you can probably imagine. She actually disgraces her, and whenever she's out in public with Bella, Bella just pretends she doesn't exist. She's going about it the wrong way. They all are. Sam refuses to protect her, because she apparently chose not to be protected when she chose you guys, and now, she needs it the most. She's got possibly two vampires after—"

"What?" I interrupted as I sprung up from the chair instantly, my voice louder than I had intended for it to be. "She's got _what_?"

I could just _hear_ him cringe away from the phone. Since he was the only person I had, I decided to calm down and _not_ freak him out. "Sorry. I'm calm."

"We keep her with us," he said leisurely, unsure if he wanted to go on or not. But, he did, for me. "As much as possible. Sam doesn't know yet, and we're trying to keep it that way so he doesn't order us not to protect her. If he does, you have to come back, Edward. The two of us swap out every night, like guard dogs." He chuckled softly for a second before he was completely serious. "Edward, she's not moving on. She needs you, more than you realize."

I walked over to the window and looked out to the big city, mostly looking down at the cars way below. I was probably blinding at the moment, looking more like a mirror than ever before, but I didn't care; didn't bother to check to be sure. No one was this high up, penthouse level, where they could see, so it didn't matter. I put my arm up on the windowsill, propping myself against it, and sighed. "I'm probably going to soon anyways. I can't stay away much longer."

"So, why don't you just come back now? I mean, seriously! The dynamic cinco is all messed up!"

I smiled faintly and looked down. "I wish I could."

"You can!" he exclaimed. "Come _on_! You know you're gonna be back soon anyways, so why not just make it easier on yourself and get back here now?"

"That would make things easier," I agreed, sighing. "I don't know. I'll probably come back soon. Let me know, though, as soon as Sam finds out. That will definitely get me back."

He laughed. "Maybe I should just tell him."

I frowned as I stepped away from the window and walked back over to the computer, which was playing _Tragic Magic_ by **Falling in Reverse**. At least this one didn't hurt. "No. Don't do that."

"Fine," he grumbled, not sounding too thrilled that I had said no.

"But, you didn't answer my original question," I reminded him, sitting back down in the chair. I leaned back a little and sighed. "She _is_ alright, right?"

I could hear the smile in his voice. "Yeah, she is. Sorry I didn't tell you before. I promise to keep you updated better. I'm sorry about that. It just . . . totally slipped my mind. When she perked up, I honestly forgot. Well, she's gonna be here soon, so, I'll talk to you later, E—"

Someone cut him off, though. It sounded like he was being attacked or jumped on from behind, and I tensed up immediately, ready to go and kill whoever was hurting him. This all happened almost instantly though, and he changed my name to, "Mayze! Hi. I didn't hear you come up."

I completely froze in my chair as a soft smile spread across my lips. It was like I was completely unable to move at all. She was there, and without knowing it, I was with her. She didn't know it, but she was with me. If I could cry, I would be crying tears of joy right now.

"Are you talking about me?" she demanded. I suddenly felt my heart again in my chest as it grew warm, whole. For the first time in almost five months, I felt alive again. I was hearing her beautiful, perfect voice for the first time in what seems like an eternity. Honestly, it felt like my heart would swell up in my chest and possibly explode. "Who on earth is there to talk to me about?"

"Mayze," I sighed, my eyes closing. A rush of joy overtook me, flooding through my entire body, leaving me longing for more. I suddenly wanted to see her again, more than I ever had since I left. It was no longer a want. I _needed _to see her. I had to see her. I had to be with her again, to hold her close . . . to call her mine.

It just wasn't an option.

He just laughed. "Yeah."

I laughed too, the first sincerely happy laugh I had laughed in months. "She is completely oblivious as to who this is."

"She is," he agreed. I could hear the smile in his voice. "It's so funny. You never realize it's possible to be as figuratively blonde as she is, and then she proves you wrong. But, yeah. I guess I'll talk—"

"Seth, that has settled it," I interrupted as I stood up from the chair, sending it rolling backwards and crashing into the wall behind me. "I'm coming home. I can't stay away any longer. That's it. I'm done trying. I'm coming back."

"Finally! It's about time!"

"Don't tell anyone, Seth," I said firmly. "This stays between you and me until I get back, okay?"

"Alright. That's great, though; honestly. There's a lot I'm not really sure how to explain," he admitted sheepishly.

Now, I was curious. What did I not know that had gone on there?

"Who are you talking to?" I heard Mayze demand again. Her attempts to be threatening were still as weak and hilarious as they ever were.

"I'll talk to you later," he promised me happily. "Bye."

I just pressed the end button before pressing speed dial number three. Emmett.

"Edward!" he exclaimed instantly as he picked up. His voice was eager and excited, a complete three-sixty from our previous conversation. "Hey, everyone! It's Edward . . . again!"

"Edward!" I heard Alice squeal in the background as she ran in the room, or maybe just spoke up.

I managed to hold back a laugh as I kept a blank face and tone. I wasn't quite telling them the news yet, not just yet. I actually kinda wanted it to be a surprise. "Hey, guys."

"Where are you?" Esme demanded. "Edward Anthony Mason-Cullen, get your butt back here. I'm tired of this! This isn't just about Mayze anymore. I need you to come home almost as badly as she does."

I sighed as part of the act. "It's not that simple."

"Make it that simple," Alice grumbled. "Edward, missing you is bad enough, but seeing her every day, the way being without you kills her, damn it. It's _torture_!"

"You chose to go back."

"Don't turn this around and make me feel like this is my fault," Emmett scolded, making me wince.

I stood up. "Okay. Whatever. That's not important. I can't just come back, though, guys."

"Actually, you can, son" Carlisle assured me. "We have a cover story for when you decided to come back."

My eyebrows furrowed. "And that is?"

"We told them you were on an internship in Alaska," Jasper informed me. "They think you won't be back for another month, but we told them that was subject to change. We weren't really sure."

I rolled my eyes. Of course they didn't make the date specific, and of course, they _would _choose to make it sometime in the near future. It was as if they knew I was breaking. They seemed to just know that I was almost to the point where I was going to run back, on my knees, and _beg _her to forgive me and take me back.

But from what I hear, it won't resort to that.

I smiled brightly for a second before wiping it off. I knew they would've been able to tell I was smiling, and I'm trying to surprise them. I had it all planned out too, already. "I still just can't."

"It's about time you came home!" Rosalie exclaimed. "We all missed you, Edward! Now get your butt up here before we hunt you down and drag you!"

I scowled. "Rose, I'm not coming home yet. I can't. And that's that."

"You need to get your butt back there and get her back!" she exclaimed, shocking me a little. Her voice was loud, firm, and full of rage. "Edward Anthony Masen-Cullen, you're killing yourself! Don't do this!"

"We _will _get Mayze on the phone," Alice threatened. "Don't you dare—"

They were expecting me to hang up, so I did. I felt like a horrible creature for doing so, but it was necessary to keep the surprise up. Right now, it seemed like they weren't expecting it, at all.

It didn't surprise me when they called back, but I didn't answer. Instead, I started packing everything I had with me, which wasn't much, into a duffel bag, and headed out, off to the airport. Since it _was _sunny, and I didn't exactly look normal in the sun, I put on my aviators, a pair of dark jeans, a black t-shirt, my zip-up Avenged Sevenfold hoodie, my solid black toboggan, and a pair of A7X fingerless gloves.

I probably looked like a gothic person, or some kind of punk, but I didn't care. Why should I care what people thought about me? It's not like I'm single and searching.

I'm madly in love with Elizabeth Malia Swan, and that was how it would be forever.

When I got inside the airport, it didn't surprise me to find it packed full of people. New York was a busy city.

I took the hood off of my head and my aviators, but I kept everything else like it was when I left.

Of course, there was a line when I _finally_ got through the security—we'll just say that easily took two hours, probably more—and headed to get in line to get a ticket, but the smallest line was a woman, so I got in it. She only glanced at me, and her thoughts instantly turned bad.

_Zomg. That has to be the sexiest man I've ever laid eyes on. I will _definitely _get his name when I get his card. Maybe his number too. Make sure to be extra appealing._

So, in that instant, she started checking herself in a mirror, holding up the line.

I groaned. Come on, lady! I'm not interested in you, so leave me the hell alone and hurry this up.

"Stop looking at yourself in the mirror, sweetheart," the man at the front of the line said flirtingly, making me grimace. "You don't need to worry about that. You're already beautiful."

She nodded and faked a smile at him. "First class or coach?"

"First class," he answered, sliding his card towards her with a wink. "I want on the ten o'clock flight to Hawaii."

She nodded and ran it, without showing the slightest bit of interest. The people in-between us were furious, so they went to another line.

"Make that two, if you want to join me," he offered, something she looked rather horrified about.

"I'm working."

He shrugged. "I'll wait for you to get off."

_I wish this perv would leave so I can flirt with the guy behind him!_

This was pissing me off to the point I was ready to snap. Here I was, hurrying home so I could see my Mayzie tomorrow, and he was stalling me. I had something I had to do along the way, and I was already pushing it for time. If I missed this flight, which was boarding now, I would kill him.

I let out a frustrated breath. "Look. I'm trying to make a flight, okay? I have somewhere to be tomorrow morning, and I'm sure she doesn't appreciate you trying to get her off to Hawaii with you. That's weird. You just met her. Now, hurry up. I don't mean to be rude, but I really can't miss this flight, and it's boarding now."

She sighed. "First class or coach?"

"Whichever is available," I said quickly, giving her a wad of cash. It was ten one hundred dollar bills. She didn't even get to tell me which she gave me before I was off.

"Your change, sir!" she called after me.

"Keep it!" I called back, running agonizingly slow—for me. To the humans, it probably looked like I was sprinting at full speed.

I made it up the stairs of the plane just in time, because they had started to shut the doors. When they saw me, though, they held them open and shut them behind me.

I looked down at my ticket to find it was coach. It wasn't an ideal setting for a vampire, to be stuck in coach with tons of people, but I would survive. It was like heading into a buffet with no money. Some people were more appealing than others, especially since I hadn't hunted in a while, but I would have to hold firm and just wait out the flight.

_I'm coming, Mayzie._


	20. 19: Just a Matter of Time

**bahaha. trying to update from my phone when i have comments and such to make is fun. lol.**

**so, R&R. :) please? yeah. thanks. you've been awesome so far, even though there has only be two, but still! you're awesome. i've gotta hurry and write more, 'cause i'm only at 26.**

**who knows? by the end of the long weekend, i'll probably have that far up to here. :)**

**oh! btw, this chapter song? i love it. i'm not normally a "Disney star" fan, but Demi Lovato's different. i love her songs, especially off her new album. :) so, i recommend listening to this one also.**

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><p><strong>22. Until You're Mine: Demi Lovato<strong>

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><p><strong>*Mayze*<strong>

I was frozen still, even as Seth came and figured out why I had done so. At first, he was a little mad, but then, he realized _why_ I had done it. It wasn't to invade his privacy at all.

Then, it was _my_ turn to be mad at him. What in the hell was he doing talking to _Edward_?

"How could you do this?" I exclaimed. "Seth, what . . . ?"

But I didn't know how to finish my question. I wasn't even sure what I wanted to know. I was still too shocked to think straight, to even breathe right. What was there to say? Nothing that I knew of made any sense.

"Let me explain," he said swiftly as he held both hands up, as if to calm me down and defend himself. "Mayze, I _am_ talking to Edward, but there's a reason, a really important reason." He brightly smiled. "I've been talking to him for the past five months now. Me and Embry both have."

That hit home. My two best friends _lied_ to me?

"So you lied," I said quietly, nodding. "Right. Thanks, Seth. You're the best friend I've ever had. You too, Embry."

The sarcasm and ice in my tone made them both cringe away from me for a second, but they quickly recovered and straightened up. I tried to get away, but they forced me to look at them.

"Just let us explain," Embry insisted. "We've been talking to him, telling him how you are and everything. Updates, if you will."

"Why the hell does he care?" I asked icily as I turned towards the Jeep, not sure if I wanted to leave or just go inside. "It's not like he ever cared about me anyways."

"But he did," Seth disagreed gently. "He never stopped caring about you, Mayze. Ever since he met you, there hasn't been a single ounce of a second he hasn't cared about you."

"Then, why—?"

They exchanged another glance before sighing in unison.

"We weren't supposed to tell you this," Embry muttered, looking down at his feet with a grimace.

"He made us swear," Seth went on, biting his lip. He was clearly hiding something again, but I would demand that answer later. "But I guess we have no other choice but to tell you now."

"Every time you say something about how he doesn't care, we wanted to tell you so badly," Embry informed me, coming over to hug me. "It killed us to see you like that, knowing we could just tell you and make you happy."

Seth walked over and joined our hug, making it a group hug. "You need to know now, though. He _does _care, enough that he checks up on you constantly. He is _dead_, basically, and he's all by himself. He keeps himself locked up in his penthouse, secluded from the world. The only time he ever left was at nights when he absolutely _had _to hunt. It's rather sad."

I was aware that I was crying again, but it was tears of confusion. Honestly, I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to believe them, or if I should. They wouldn't lie to me, but if that was the case, why doesn't he just come back?

I pulled away from them and laughed breathlessly, still not sure what to think. I wiped the tears away with my jacket sleeve. "So you _were_ always hiding something from me. Back when I didn't trust myself, I never believed it. I thought I was reading everyone wrong, like I had been my entire life. But, you were."

"Yeah," Embry admitted while nodding. "But, whenever you get home, you should check out Edward's playlist. I've seen it, and it would've told you the same thing." He laughed. "It was right in front of you, but you refused to look."

I sighed as I smiled at how simple everything suddenly seemed after seeming so complicated and scary just two days prior. "I know, but, honestly, I wouldn't have believed it anyways. Still not sure if I do. Seeing it would've just given me even more pain, and I never would've believed it. If it wasn't for these past few weeks, guys, I wouldn't have believed you now."

Seth put his arm around my shoulders. "So, see? Everything happens for a reason. Do you wanna know _why_ he left?"

"Oh, I already know," I said simply, shrugging. "Assuming you guys are right and he's not just making this up so you two don't get pissed and kill him, I knew it was one of two things. One, he never really cared and I read him wrong, which . . . ." I took a deep breath. "Which I trust you guys, and the Cullens, enough to believe isn't the case. It's the second one. He cared so much he was willing to leave to keep me safe. He was able to put me above what he wants."

"Exactly," Seth said encouragingly as we walked inside, his arm now moving by his side. "Except it _is _for certain. There's no need to worry."

All eyes turned to me, and Quil nodded encouragingly. Colin and Brady grinned at me, but Sam shot them a look, which made them look away towards the floor.

I could already tell me and Sam were _not_ going to get along.

"Hi," Emily said brightly with a smile before gently hugging me. I felt uncomfortable hugging her, but she was so nice, how could I refuse? I mean, it's Emily. "How are you, Mayze? Have you been well?"

I smiled back and nodded. "I'm good, Emily; getting much better."

"So," Sam said blankly, kinda rudely, as I sat down in-between Embry and Seth on the couch, both of them grinning at me for a second before eyeing Sam skeptically. "What's it like?"

"What?" I asked blissfully as I looked up at him. Even Sam, the guy I absolutely hate, couldn't bring me down. I had just been told Edward had cared about me, all along, by two people I trusted with my life. It had been said by six people I trusted with my life too, but until I saw that they had kept in touch with him too, I didn't believe it, for some reason. I just couldn't.

Until now.

His eyes slightly narrowed. "Knowing we were right about the leech and you were wrong."

My head tilted slightly to the side, pretending to be confused, of course. I honestly wasn't sure my mind was ready to believe it, but my heart knew it was true.

"What? Oh. I'm sorry. I never got that memo. Since when were _you_ right? Who says he's not coming back for me?"

"Uh, it's been nearly five months," he pointed out icily. "I'm pretty sure it's safe to say he's not coming back and he never cared about you."

I frowned. "You know, Sam, I really don't like you. You and Jacob are really getting on my nerves. I mean, honestly. How many times can you try to crush a girl's spirits before it just gets old?"

He glowered at me as I stood up. "I'm trying to get it in your head that—"

"You can just save it," I interrupted. "Alright? You're not getting anything through to my head, alright? I'm going to be a vampire soon, and it's not because of the Cullens. I do not like you, at all. Simple as that." I looked down at Seth and Embry. I couldn't help but smile at them. "Sorry, guys. I've got things I need to do. I need to talk to Emmett about something."

They both grinned back at me and nodded.

"Go on, sweetie pie," Embry encouraged.

"Bye, Mayzie!" Seth exclaimed before eagerly waving at me.

I just laughed before turning back to Sam. "And, for the record, I don't _need_ your protection, alright? I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself without your help. I've got an entire coven of vampires with connections. Why would I need you?"

With that, I waved at Embry, Quil, Seth, and Leah before happily running out. Leah had a grin on her lips as she watched the man she was still in love with and trying to get over get told off. Jared didn't think this was too funny anymore, not once he realized I was about to be with Edward again. Quil was looking at the floor to hide his humored expression, and Embry and Seth were silently laughing as I blissfully skipped out and towards the Jeep.

Paul, though, looked pissed, but I didn't care. Paul didn't like me, just like Jacob and Sam didn't. Like I said, I didn't care.

Somehow, I managed to breathe as I jumped in Emmett's Jeep. My mind was a jumbled up mess as I ran my fingers through my hair and pulled out of the driveway.

As I was straightening up, Jacob and Bella pulled up in Jake's truck. Jacob's eyes were suspicious as he noticed the bright smile on my lips, but I just waved sweetly before driving off down the road.

Nothing mattered anymore. He loved me. This much I knew now. Like Alice, Emmett, Esme, Carlisle, Jasper, Rosalie, Embry, and Seth all said; it's just a matter of time now before he's back in my arms.

And I couldn't wait.


	21. 20: Back Again

**alrighty. YES.**

**you shall see. :D**

**R&R for more. trust me, you're gonna want the next chapter. :) i think the next chapter makes me happier than this one does, but they both just...aww. :D anyways, i have to tell you that i thoroughly enjoyed writing this chapter. lots of it, really. :) it makes me sooooo happy.**

**R&R to read the next chapter, which makes me laugh. :D ha. hahaha. Ha. HA. :D**

**...not as much as my most recent ex's new girlfriend. XD ah, this is great. :) i wouldn't be such a bitch about it if he wasn't such a dick about our breakup. but he was, and now it's relieving.**

**ha.**

**anyways...you probably wanna read. XD so, here it is. :) R&R**

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><p><strong>23. Chemicals React: Aly &amp; AJ<strong>

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><p>Realizing that he loved me cleared up a portion of the aching inside of me. I mean, I was over what Blade did, to an extent, but that didn't mean I was happy about it. Inside, I still cried every time something reminded me of it, and there were quite a few things that did. You wouldn't imagine how many things there were.<p>

But I had a reason to go on now, a reason to be happy.

The weirdest thing happened this morning. I woke up with tears in my eyes and one rolling down my cheek. It was weird only because I was beginning to get to where I was okay. I knew, though, without even having to think about it that I had dreamed of Edward—possibly Blade again too.

As I got dressed for school the next morning, I went to a section of my closet—the biggest section—that I hadn't been in a long time. It was the clothes I always wore, the ones that were more me than anything else. Up until, well, today, I had no reason to dress up, no reason to look good. So, I just wore jeans, t-shirts, or sweats with old converse. It didn't matter that I looked like crap. Hell, most of the time, I didn't even bother messing with my hair. I didn't even bother putting it up in a ponytail. Sure, I brushed it—of course I took daily showers—but I didn't bother making it look good.

Until today.

I found myself getting up early, six o'clock to be exact, and plugging in my straightening iron. I found myself picking out something completely and one hundred percent me.

Yeah, it was a dress, but it was something different; actually something new.

I decided to wear a strapless, short dress. It came to about the same place my prom dress did, but it was ice blue instead. It was made out of a satin material with a complete mesh layer on top. It was tight, for the torso part, and from the bottom of the torso part until the bottom of the skirt, which came about four inches above my knee, it was rather loose and almost like a tutu skirt; it wasn't that poufy, though. It was really kickass, if you ask me.

To go with it, I had my solid black fedora; a pair of black and ice blue striped fingerless gloves, the kind that came to the crease in my elbow; and my newer black and white ankle converse—or the converse that I could wear with my boot. Auggie seemed to sense my brighter, optimistic mood, because her tail was wagging uncontrollably.

Before I even started with the makeup and my hair, I looked in the mirror at my reflection. I saw a new girl, but she wasn't really new. In reality, she was a sad version of the old me—scarred but healing. I could see that sparkle in my eyes again; the glowing, bright luminance they shone. My skin wasn't so dead looking anymore, and that smile I put on no longer looked faked.

I looked like a human being again, something I knew Charlie would love.

Of course, I straightened my hair and then put on my fedora. I also put on ice blue shimmery eye shadow, black mascara that made my eyelashes look much longer and fuller than before, and shimmery charcoal eyeliner.

My eyes popped.

The difference in skin color on my arm wasn't really noticeable, simply because the rest of my skin had gotten lighter too. Unless I pointed it out or thought about it, it was the same color. But, if pointed out, you could slightly tell.

While I waited on Alice, I decided to paint my fingernails black. No; I'm not emo or gothic just because I paint my fingernails black. It looks cool, okay? Back off.

Right about the time I got them done, I heard the Volvo horn honk from outside.

"Alice is here!"

I couldn't help but smile a little at the timing and the fact that Bella called her Alice. Alice tells me over and over again that she and Bella will be best friends one day, and I can see it; unlike Rosalie and me. The point is, Bella can actually tolerate Alice, and slightly Emmett, but that's only sometimes. Others, she hates him just like the rest of my family.

Oh well. She can go fuck a spider for all I care.

When I walked downstairs, Bella and Charlie were sitting at the table eating breakfast. Instead of skipping breakfast, like usual, I grabbed a banana off of the counter. They were both gawking at me the entire time I was in their sight.

Charlie was the first to say something, but that didn't occur until I was at the door opening it. "Mayze! You're . . . you . . . ."

I smiled. "He'll be back soon, Dad, because he loves me."

That was all I had to say, though, because he grinned at me. Bella just rolled her eyes, grabbed her bowl of cereal, slammed it in the sink, and stomped her way upstairs.

Alice was squealing when I got in the Volvo and shut the door. "You look . . . Mayze! You're beautiful! Oh my gosh! This is amazing! You could've done without the gloves, the fedora, and the converse, but . . . ah! It's you, Mayze! You're back!"

I laughed. "Alice, he's coming back for me soon. When? I don't know. But, he _will _be back sometime."

She sighed. "I can't see when either, which bothers me, but he _is _in the future. Our future is set. Now, he just needs to hurry and get his ass back!"

I smiled brightly and nodded. "Agreed."

* * *

><p>The lunch table was the normal. When I had arrived, everyone freaked out. Bella was pissed off, all day long, but I didn't care. I was me again, and if she's really mad about that, that's her problem.<p>

I was about to scream. Why? Well, remember me saying that the lunch table was normal? That meant it had the normal people, and those normal people were _freaking _because of the dress. According to Alice, it was because I looked more beautiful than ever before, and they couldn't help themselves.

So what were they doing?

Hitting on me!

The worst part was the fact that there were _four _of them hitting on me—Mike, Tyler, Eric, and Chase, one of the new guys—and they were all taking different approaches. Mike was being cheesy and corny, Eric was being straightforward, Tyler was being a pig, and Chase was trying to make me laugh.

Ugh!

"What would you give me if I agreed to sleep with you?" Tyler started, and my eyes widened in absolute horror.

"Agreed?" I snorted. "Do you really think I'll _ask_? No, don't answer that. I'll answer it for you—I won't."

Chase rolled his eyes at Tyler but gave me a flirty smile. "Did you know that they say that men with the biggest dicks have the smallest mouths?"

I pretended to play along and leaned in close, lips tight. "Well, I could park a car in your mouth, so that doesn't really give you a good outlook."

"It's not size that matters," he reminded me, working quickly with what I had tried to do—hit him below the belt. "It's what you do with it."

"I bet you're real good at making it invisible to the naked eye," I said in a sarcastic agreement tone. Then, I rolled my eyes. "Guys, can you please just—?"

"Look, Mayze, I don't expect to have sex with you on our first date," Eric interrupted quickly, and I just began grinding my teeth together in frustration. "I'm quite restrained."

"Yeah?" I asked tightly. "I'm even more restrained. I don't expect to have a first date with you."

And that was when _he _gave up, leaving three more to go.

"You look like you've never done it in a water bed," Tyler tried again in his alluring voice, mouth close enough to my ear that he actually bit it a little.

I leaned away from him, scowling bitterly. "Yeah, well, you look like you've never done it."

He laughed seductively, shrugging. "Oh, trust me, baby. I've done it _many _times. I can give it to you _real _good."

My eyes got dark as I looked back to him. "Call me baby one more time, and you won't be giving it to anyone."

Chase scoffed. "Tyler, stop being an obnoxious ass. Look, Mayze, I just want to know. Have you ever done it with a real man?"

My eyes got bright, loving the easy route he gave me quite a lot, and I smiled in my own seductive way as I leaned closer to him. "No. Why? Have you?"

He laughed a little and shook his head. "No, babe. I'm completely straight." He cocked an eyebrow at me. "What? Edward not man enough to screw you?"

"He's man enough to wait until I'm damn ready," I said simply. "Man enough to take no as an answer. Seriously, guys, I—"

"Mayze, let's cut the crap and get down to business," Tyler interrupted, and I began to stand up. "Wait! I have a condom with your name written on it."

I shook my head. "No, Tyler, I think you're mistaken. My name is Mayze, not Trojan Extra Small."

Alice made her way over to me quickly, eyeing each guy with a dark glare. "Any problems, sis?"

"Nothing I can't handle," I said firmly, giving her a tiny smile. "Trust me, Alice. I'm fine."

She smirked a little, still eyeing the guys around me. "I'm not worried about you. I'm more worried about them. When he gets back . . . ."

The guys didn't even seem phased, and Alice just shrugged. The two of us sat back down, and Mike was nice enough to give her his seat and scoot over one. I was surprised how quiet he was—probably thinking of a way to go so that I couldn't put him down too.

"I want to be really dirty with you," Tyler moaned. "Come on, Mayze. You can't torment us like you have from the day you first graced us with your beauty and then not even _try _dating us."

Alice rolled her eyes. "You guys are disgusting. I wouldn't try you either."

"Agreed," Angela, who sat down on the other side of Alice, groaned. "Will you guys just give it a rest?"

Chase shook his head firmly. "When someone is as beautiful as Mayze, when someone grabs your heart as firmly as Mayze has grabbed my heart, you can't just 'give it a rest,' Angela."

She snorted. "Yeah, which in translation means you're ticked because you can't bang her, and every other girl you've come across that you wanted let you. Alright. Cool story, bro."

Tyler tried another route, and he leaned in really close. "You know, underneath these clothes, I'm completely naked."

With a devious gleam in my eyes, I leaned over to whisper in his ear in the most seductive voice I could manage with him. "Prove it." After pausing a few seconds and getting him excited, I leaned away and rolled my eyes. "To someone else who actually gives a damn."

"Mayze, it is _great_ to have you back," Mike finally spoke up, probably realizing I was about to go insane and kill the two still trying. He was smiling at me, and I could see true sincerity in his eyes as he looked at my _face_. "So, what do you think? Movie tonight? Dinner? I'll pay."

I laughed and shook my head, loving the sex-free route he took a _lot _but not enough to change my mind. "Mike, honestly, I'm flattered that you just keep trying, but he's coming back for me, okay? I know that now, with a million and seventy-four percent certainty. I don't know when, but he'll be back; probably a month. But, I'm sorry, Mike. I can't. I'm in love with Edward."

"It really is nice to have you back," Angela said kindly, saving me from the other two and breaking the awkward tension going on. "You look really gorgeous today, Mayze. You always have, but when you try, it's amazing how much more beautiful you are."

I smiled. "Thanks, Angela. You really are beautiful too."

Mike frowned at me. "Mayze, I would go to the end of the world for you."

For a second, I just gave him a strange look, staring at him as if he had lost his mind. He had to have, to say that. But, I decided to pretend it was a joke and say, "Yes, but would you stay there?"

He shook his head. "I'm serious, Mayze."

"And I'm serious when I ask you to just leave me alone," I said firmly. "If you really care as much about me as you say you do, you'll back off."

"I care too much about you to stop trying."

"Edward has my heart," I said simply, shrugging. "I don't know why you don't understand that. I can't love anyone else. I've tried, Mike, but I can't. I love him."

Angela gasped beside me, breaking up this awkward conversation again. "Speaking of Edward . . . ."

"Edward!" Alice squealed beside me, jumping up and basically dancing towards the lunchroom door.

I was frozen in shock, but my eyes followed Alice's path to see him standing there, not looking at anyone but me. He hugged her, but that's not what he wanted to do. Anyone could see that, and I'm sure Alice could tell. She, while she was very important to him, wasn't his main concern right now.

My mind didn't comprehend it as I stood up, but when Alice let him go and gestured for me to come over there, I was standing and looking at him; taking in his appearance carefully as if to never miss a single detail.

His perfect face was shocking, but not even for a whole second. It was dimmed by my dreams and memories, like I had figured it would be. Seeing it again made me want to cry all over again, but I didn't. Crying just wasn't an option right now.

He was panting, as if there was something wrong. Well, it wasn't really like there was anything wrong. It was sorta like I was doing right now. It was all I seemed to be able to do, actually.

The lunchroom was completely silent as I gazed at him and calculated everything. My heart was back—full beating, fully healed. He was back, forever, where he would stay. I hadn't read him wrong, and all along, deep down, I knew. As we stood here, looking at each other with the most passionate, loving looks we had ever shared, it was as if he had never left, as if he had been here the whole time. It was like all that pain I had felt was just a nightmare that seemed to never end. But, he was here now, and it was finally over.

It was super hard to do, but I managed to take a step away from him. The movement was so slight, but he saw it. Bella saw it and felt false hope. Alice saw it and was utterly confused.

I was the first to speak, but I was a little nervous because everyone was listening and watching. I had to be careful what I said.

"You said you loved me," I whispered, eyes tightening a little as I looked him right in the eyes. "But then you left, just like you promised you wouldn't."

"I . . . ." He hesitated, and in this hesitation, I saw pain and raw agony, the things I had felt for so long. It wasn't what I wanted to do, though, so instead of listening to whatever he wanted to say, I ran out of the lunchroom.

I knew he would follow—I _knew_. I also knew what I was gonna do when he did.

He was out in the hallway with me before I even had time to turn around, and now, we were alone. Now, everything was private, and I could do whatever I wanted.

Then, I was running over to him and throwing my arms around him, which surprised him. He fell back a little in surprise, but he was hugging me all over again.

I was still panting as I pulled back away from him and looked up at him, only to find him looking at me now with a curious, confused look. But, nonetheless, he gently cradled my face in his hands and leaned in to kiss me.

Well, he tried to kiss me anyways. I pulled away from him, which was the hardest thing I had ever done—it seemed anyways. I needed to breathe, though, and I had to get myself under control before he did that.

He was so confused, to the point he just gazed brokenly at me. He was looking deeply into my eyes, though, as if they held a treasure he had been searching for a long time. "Do you still have it in you, somewhere, to love me?"

I was gaping at him now, completely thrown off by his question. Did . . . he just . . . I swear! It's like what I told him before he left just went in one ear and out the other! And, I thought Seth had kept him updated!

"Of course I do!" I exclaimed, giving him a hard, icy look as I glared up at him. "You can't change that. Nothin' you ever do will, so don't even bother trying."

And then, in that moment, my favorite smile spread across his lips. It made my heart gallop wildly in my chest to finally see it again, shining brighter than I ever remembered. It shocked me.

"That's all I wanted to hear," he breathed before his lips met mine, making Alice squeal with excitement. This kiss was more eager, more determined and passionate, than I ever remembered. It was so much easier than I could've ever imagined; letting him back into my life again, that is.

"Hey!" Alice exclaimed, making us both pull apart quickly and look over at her standing in the doorway behind us. She wasn't looking at us, though. It was more like she was glaring at the student body trying to gather around the doorway. "There's nothing to see here that's any of your business! Go on. Keep talking and socializing and eating. Leave the two be. Go. Shoo, shoo."

Edward let out a soft, breathless laugh. "Mayzie . . . ."

I smiled up at him as my eyes started filling up with tears. I struggled against them, though. "Edward."

His fingers softly rubbed my cheeks, making my heart speed up even more than normal with his touch. He, of course, grinned at me. "I love you."

Those were the words I longed to hear, the words I _had _to hear. They had been missing so long, it seemed, but they were back. He was back in my arms again.

"I love you too."

He pulled something out of his pocket, a little velvet box. When my eyes shot wide open, he laughed. "Don't worry, Mayze. I'm not asking you to marry me yet. This is something to say . . . I promise you I will never leave you. I promise to love you forever and ever. You're my Mayzie, and I can't let you go anymore." He opened the box to reveal the most gorgeous ring I've ever laid eyes on. It was white gold, but it had a blue topaz oval diamond in the middle with two small tourmaline diamond circles beside it. The actual ring was unique, in itself, because there were unique, very beautiful designs shaped into it.

I stared up at him in awe as he put the ring on my finger. "I love you too."

"I know," he whispered, putting the box back in his pocket. "As much as I hate saying this, I really have to go Mayze."

"No," I breathed quickly, aware my heart stopped in my chest and my arms instinctively tightened around him.

He hugged me securely against him, our bodies intertwining perfectly; as usual. Now, though, we seemed to fit even more perfectly together than we did before, because I had finished growing.

"I'm not leaving you, Mayze. You have to believe that," he whispered, his voice low and full of pain.

"I do."

He smiled and kissed my forehead softly. "Then know I'll be at home seeing my family. You better believe that I'll be here to get you after school. I'll be back at school on Monday, okay, baby girl?"

I bit my lip to hide my smile. "Baby girl?"

"You're so much more to me than you are to them," he murmured lovingly, stroking my cheeks softly for a second. "So you're _my _baby girl—only mine."

I nodded. "Forever."

He looked down at me, spun me around, and continued to smile my smile at me. "I picked a good day to come back."

"Any day was a good day to come back," I reminded him.

"Touché."

He had to force himself out the school doors, which was clearly extremely hard. I could tell, but it was also hard to watch him leave. But, he managed to do it, and he made his way to the woods, where he must've taken off running.

Alice walked with her arm locked in mine back to the lunchroom and over to our table, beaming. "I told you!"

I rolled my eyes but laughed. "Yeah, Alice, you did."

"Lemme see it," she insisted, grabbing my hand and glancing at the ring. "Damn. He goes all out for a promise ring."

"Yeah," I muttered. "Which terrifies me. If this is the promise ring, what's the engagement ring gonna look like?"

To me, it looked like she was checking to see, because she had that glazed over look in her eye that she always got when she was having a vision. When she was back to reality, she hugged me again before sitting back down.

"It's gorgeous, Mayze."


	22. 21: Royally

**:) this is the chapter that makes me super happy. on top of the last one. XD**

**well, they both technically do, but this one does. and maybe the fact that it's almost one in the morning and i'm super pumped about other things, but...i really do love this chapter.**

**hopefully, you will too. :D**

**R&R for more. XD**

* * *

><p><strong>24. Critical Acclaim: Avenged Sevenfold<strong>

* * *

><p>Like he promised, he was there waiting for me when school got out.<p>

He took me in his arms again, and just like last time, I didn't stop him, because right now, I wanted to be here. In fact, I'm pretty sure I walked into the embrace, wanting nothing more than the feeling of being close to him; the action of being close to him in general and those wonderful reactions he always gave me. I slid my arms around his waist, set my cheek against his chest, and tried to block out everything else besides how good it felt to hold him, to listen to his swift heartbeat that only grew faster as I got closer.

His hands slid over my shoulders, then down my arms, and then around to my back to lock in place. It was a very intimate, sweet moment that I wouldn't trade for anything.

He kissed my forehead tenderly, and I felt the breath rush out of my mouth in an almost silent whisper.

"I don't understand," he murmured, voice low and eyes on me, studying my every reaction. "You just accepted me back with open arms."

He kissed my temple this time, which was definitely a completely new feeling in itself. But, instead of pulling back, my hands gripped behind his back, bunching his shirt in small fists and keeping him right where he was. He smiled that gorgeous smile, flashing me those pearly white, perfectly straight teeth; tucked black strands of straightened hair behind my small ear; and then kissed my forehead. I felt my stomach flutter, felt the momentum of this moment taking us somewhere completely new.

And I loved it.

"Is that a problem?"

My face scrunched a little. I wasn't really sure what I was trying to communicate. But, when my eyes slid back to his, he shook his head slightly, his own gaze unsure, before finally letting me go.

I loved being able to look up at him while also being in his sweet embrace.

"Not a problem," he finally murmured before walking around to the other side of the Jeep and opening the door. "I just don't understand."

"Would you do the same thing for me?"

His eyebrows pulled together for a moment as I climbed up in the passenger's seat. Once I was in, he shut the door and walked around and got in himself. When he had his door shut, he looked back over to me. "I guess I would."

I nodded. "Exactly. It can't be explained, Edward, but I just . . . ." My teeth ground together. "I need you."

He looked over at me with absolutely shining eyes. "I'm yours, Mayze."

I nodded. "So, we have a lot to talk about."

He laughed. "I kind of expected that."

My bottom lip poked out. "You lost your accent."

His lip poked out too as he glanced over at me briefly. "Aw. I'm sorry. I guess we'll just have to fix that, now won't we?"

I beamed at him. "Exactly."

"So, for the rest of the day, I was thinking maybe we could go see Charlie," he explained, glancing at me with hopeful, joyous eyes. "Only for a couple of hours, though. Then, we'll go back to my place, see my family for a couple of hours, and finally, just you and me . . . go somewhere. The meadow, most likely." He smiled. "If that's okay with you, and Charlie."

"That sounds great, because the last memory I have of the meadow includes a gorgeous strawberry blonde haired vegetarian vampire," I informed him, my nose crinkling at the memory of her; her beauty.

His eyebrows furrowed. "You met Tanya?"

I shook my head, frowning when I found out she actually existed. "No. She wasn't real. It was just the only reason I could come up with as to why you left at the time."

His eyes filled with pain, out of nowhere. "Seth told me that you blamed yourself . . . ."

"I did."

"Why?" he whispered, voice choking up a little. "Mayze, that was _my _fault, completely."

"I thought that I didn't read you right," I admitted, shrugging. "It doesn't matter, though. That's the past."

"You're right," he agreed, taking a deep breath. "The past."

I leaned over and kissed his cheek softly. "I love you."

A soft breath gushed out of his slightly parted lips, but he stayed focused and gently spoke up. "I'll love you forever, Mayze."

"You will?" I tried, not really certain if now was the time to discuss this.

His response would be the deciding factor. We were close to Charlie's house, so most likely, no, but I decided to get the start in there.

"Yes," he murmured. "That's the problem."

"Problem?"

His eyes tightened a little as his entire body, naturally, grew rigid and still. "It's why I can't live without you, Mayze. I can't bear it any longer."

It was then I noticed we were home, at Charlie's house. In my mind, I had two homes, because part of my family lived here, and the other part lived at Edward's house.

"My room smelled like you," he informed me as he opened my door and gently pulled me out of the Jeep. "It was about a day old, I think, but it did."

"I kinda went in there yesterday," I explained. "We'll talk about this tonight, okay?"

He winced. "That bad?"

I decided it would be best not to answer him, so, instead, I went inside with Edward following behind me.

"Daddy!" I squealed when I got inside, making Edward jump in surprise behind me. "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy! Guess what!"

"Gosh, Mayze, calm down," Charlie laughed from the living room. From the way I heard his chair creak, I guessed he was getting up and heading in here. When he did, he froze in the doorway for a minute, eyes wide.

"Bam!" I exclaimed, smirking at him. "My turn to surprise you." I stuck my tongue out at him. "He showed up today at school."

"Well, it's about time you got yourself back here," Charlie grinned, shaking Edward's hand firmly. "How have you been, son?"

Edward's eyes were widened in confusion, only for a moment, before he grinned back at him. "Of course, they _would _explain everything. I've been pretty terrible, Charlie."

"That's good to know," Charlie said honestly, smirking at me. "That's about like her. You knew you would be back. Why did you have to take so long?"

Edward laughed. "Honestly, I don't know. I don't know what I was thinking."

"I appreciate the thought, but don't be so stupid about it next time," Charlie commanded, making me giggle a little.

"Yes, sir," Edward agreed, grinning. "I don't plan to do anything that stupid ever again."

"People don't usually plan to do stupid things," I reminded him. "Well, they sometimes do, but not all the time."

"They do most of the time."

I scowled. "Anyways, Dad, I was just gonna let you know he's here, and I was wondering if it was alright if we went back to his place and then out tonight."

He nodded. "Yeah. You can just stay there, if that'll make things easier. You two stop by sometime Sunday and see me."

I grinned. "Aw, Daddy, are you giving me permission to stay this entire weekend?"

He rolled his eyes but grinned back at me. "Do you have to ask?"

"Touché," I murmured, glancing up at Edward. "So, I'll just go get some stuff, and then we'll go."

"Okay," he agreed, smiling at me. "I'll wait here?"

"You'll come with me," I disagreed, shaking my head. Of course, right about that moment, Auggie would stumble down the stairs and start yelping at us. "Yes, sweetie. You can come too."

Edward laughed and bent down to pet her. "My gosh, she's gotten big—bigger anyways."

Charlie nodded. "She's definitely Mayze's dog. It's pretty wild."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded, frowning at him.

"It means the dog is nuts," Charlie said simply, shrugging. "She's the clumsiest dog I've ever seen. She's pretty curious, and she doesn't mind doing stupid things to have fun. She's just . . . ."

"Indescribable," Edward agreed, nodding. "I know the feeling."

I scowled up at him. "Thanks a lot."

So, I got my clothes packed and ready, and I even brought Auggie's own little Pookie—mine too, of course. It was pretty funny. Every other toy I had gotten her, she tore to pieces or played with forever. But, when I got her a smaller version of my Pookie, she never even _tried _to play with it. Instead, she sleeps with it beside her and takes it with her wherever she goes.

It's amusing.

"That's unreal," Edward laughed, rolling his eyes. "First you, and now Auggie? It's like you two can't live without your Pookies."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "That's mean. I'm telling Emmett."

"Tell him," he said carelessly before sticking his tongue right back out at me. "What's he going to do? He can't catch me."

I glared at him, but right as I started to argue back, the front door opened to reveal Bella. The instant she walked in, she rolled her eyes and groaned.

"Well, hello to you too," I snapped.

"Oh, just shut it, Mayze," she hissed. "I should've known that when you two were all over each other that he would be here too."

"Like you have any room to talk!" I exclaimed. "I'm not the one who French kisses my boyfriend in the middle of the mall! People really don't wanna see that, Bella."

"Just like no one wanted to see that."

I shrugged. "Alice told y'all to mind your own business. You chose not to listen. And that was different. You two have been together since we moved here."

"Whatever," she said arrogantly, rolling her eyes again. Then, she looked up at Edward with an icy glare. "So, when do you plan to leave my sister and break her heart all over again?"

Edward was frozen in shock, clearly not ready for that. He seemed to have been ready for just about anything.

But that.

"Bella, shut the hell up!" I screamed, shoving her back a little. "You have no idea why he left! In case you were wondering, he left to protect me! And, up until this month, I knew that. I just stopped believing it when four months had passed and there was no sign of anyone."

"He's just going to do it again," Bella sneered, giving him a cold, hard look. "Aren't you, Edward?"

"For your information, I'm not," Edward said darkly, doing his absolute best to gaze evenly at her. "I _can't _lose her again. Look, Bella, I'm trying to be nice to you, but please don't push me. You're making it extremely difficult."

She looked disbelievingly at him for a few seconds before rolling her eyes. "Whatever. And, Mayze, stop pretending, okay? We all know you were heartbroken over the fact that he left you. Don't even act like you weren't."

"That hurt," I said simply, shrugging. "I never said it didn't. But, you're not listening. Those first four months, he had nothing to do with what caused my depression. In case you care enough to know, I was r—" And yet, here again, I found myself crying and unable to actually say the word. Memories of that day flowed through my brain, leaving me shaking and cold.

"I'm not stupid, Mayze. I know you!" Bella yelled, making me cringe away from her fury. "You've realized that being that upset over losing him is stupid, so made up some lame cover story. I'm not stupid."

"No," I choked out, shaking my head. "I—"

"Bella, just stop it!" Edward shouted, completely outraged. I had seen him really, really, _really _pissed off before, but this surprised me, to the point I jumped back a little. Charlie, on the other hand, had never seen him anything but happy; not until now. "You preach about how you know Mayze, and how you know she's lying. You don't know _anything_. You have no idea who your sister is anymore. I don't understand how anyone could be such a bitch to someone so . . . amazing . . . but, you found a way to be. Bella, Mayze tries to fix the broken bond between you two, but you're making it impossible! If this was sincere protection and anger towards me, because I left, I wouldn't have a problem with you acting like this. But, this is purely because you can't get it out of your head what your stupid mutt has told you over and over again about how vampires are filthy, dirty, good-for-nothing monsters incapable of loving! I can guarantee that's not true! We may be monsters, but we are so much more capable of loving; a love greater than you could even _begin _to _somewhat _comprehend. That's the love I feel towards Mayze; a love greater than anything I've encountered yet. You think I'm just using her for my own personal pleasure, or something like that, but you have _no idea_, because, like I said, you can't even comprehend how much I love your sister.

"And, you know what? Go tell your little dog about this. I'd like to see him come do something about it. You, Bella, need to back off and leave Mayze the hell alone. I don't know what happened after we left. No one knows for sure. Emmett has a guess, and he may be . . . ." He stopped, though, eyes full of pain. Whatever it was he had in his mind, his idea as to what happened, distracted him from his rant. He realized what he had just done, in that instant, and he looked up at Charlie, eyes wide in horror. "I . . . I can't believe I just . . . I am so very sorry for that, Charlie; Bella." But, then, before either of them even had the chance to get over their shock, he grabbed my hand and pulled me out with Auggie following quietly behind us. She seemed to sense that the mood was no longer light, so she just followed silently.

Edward opened the door for me, but she jumped in before me. He wasn't looking at me, but the ground instead, and when I sat down, I turned myself towards him, grabbed his face, and fervently kissed him.

This surprised him, because I'm sure he expected me to be pissed. After all, that _was _my sister he just royally bitched out. But, it was very amusing, and she deserved it.

"You . . . you're not mad," he murmured, looking up at me with confused, torn eyes. "Why? She didn't deserve that."

"She did," I disagreed, shaking my head. "And no, I'm not mad. Thank you, actually. I really appreciate that. It took a lot for you to stand up to her like that, for me. I know."

"Standing up for you is one of the easiest things in the world to do," he informed me. His eyebrows suddenly pulled together. "Charlie . . . doesn't hate me . . . what?"

I laughed. "He loves you, Edward, so much that he's willing to overlook you royally bitching out my sister." I kissed him softly. "That was funny."

"What really did happen?" he asked quietly, changing the subject to a different one neither of us wanted to address.

I turned away from him and propped one foot up on the dashboard "What do you think happened, Edward?"

"Emmett had a guess, and he could be right," he whispered, looking away from me. "If he is . . . ."

"What's his guess?"

His eyes moved back over to me, and I could tell he was uncertain. It was as if he knew he had to know, but in all honesty, he didn't really wanna know. He knew, without a doubt, that whatever it was that caused so much pain was gonna _kill _him.

"He think you were, well, r . . . raped," he stuttered out, choking over the word himself. He wasn't even sure if this was what had happened, but it already killed him to think about how it _could _be what happened.

I let out a humorless laugh and looked away from him, doing my best to peak in the window. I couldn't see Bella or Charlie anymore, so maybe they went on with their lives. Now, I was trying to be casual, trying to make the situation better than it really was, simply because I knew things were gonna get _ugly_.

"He's good."

A violent growl erupted from his chest, making Auggie jump in the backseat. She started to bark, but once she realized it was Edward, she stopped and laid back down.

In his eyes, I could see him thinking of all the different ways to kill a person, and he was using process of elimination. Any that weren't painful at all, just a little painful, or even really painful, he was scratching them off of his list and going for the truly gruesome deaths.

He wanted this to be excruciating.

"Before you start planning murder, let me tell you who it is," I interrupted his thoughts, feeling it necessary so that he didn't plan too much only to fall short. "They require special ways to kill them."

That caught his attention, to the point he froze, completely. Everything completely shut down inside of him. He didn't appear to be thinking about anything, and he definitely wasn't breathing.

After he stared at me, waiting, for a few moments, I decided it was time to tell him, because he deserved to know. "It was Blade, Dusk's mate."


	23. 22: Promise

**sorry no updates so far today, but here it is! i got distracted with Skyward Sword...but here it is. :D i really love this chapter. a lot. :D**

**oh, thanks for reviewing. it really does keep me pumped. :) if you want more, i want another review. it can just be simply, "awesome," and i'm good. i just want one. then you'll get the next chapter. :D**

**ONE MORE THING. both chapter songs? i HIGHLY recommend them. they are a-MAYZE-zing. :D**

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><p><strong>25. Heartbeat: The Fray<br>26. Comatose: Skillet**

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><p>I continued gazing up at the diamonds in the sky, twinkling with more intensity than I had ever seen them.<p>

Edward wasn't looking up at the sky, though, but his gaze was locked on me. With one arm hooked under my neck, he had his body turned towards me—as well as keeping it really close to me too, close enough that I could feel his breath tickling my neck. While I was content with watching the stars for the moment, he was content with watching me and playing with my hair.

Finally, though, I met his gaze with a brilliant smile. "What?"

He gave me a gentle smile back, a tender smile. "Mayze, I've been away from you for so long, I honestly think I could just stare at your face for all of eternity."

I pursed my lips. "That depends."

"On?"

I shrugged. "When I get old and die, how do you plan to stare at my face for all of eternity?"

That shocked him, to the point that happy glow seemed to dim in his eyes. A new emotion—fear, it seemed—replaced it.

"Mayze . . . ."

I sat up and grunted, my fingers curling around the soft, huge, fuzzy blanket underneath us. "Are you serious, Edward?"

"What?" he asked softly, sitting up too so he could continue to look at me fully at the same level I was. "Mayze, what do you want from me?"

"Run your fingers through my hair," I pleaded. "For once, just once, feel exactly what I feel. Believe what I believe, and for once, just once, understand. I want you to tell me you want to keep me here with you, forever. I'm sure Emmett has told you what he said, and Carlisle, too. Either one of those options are, well, possible. I could go to either of them right now, and they would change me. But, I don't want _them _to do it. I want you to make the decision to change me. I want you to be okay with it. I want you to choose to keep me here. I want you to be the one to seal the deal."

He looked torn now as he gazed down at me. "Mayze, you have to know I want to keep you here forever."

"I don't."

He let out a humorless laugh. "And here I thought I got the point that I love you across rather clearly."

I shrugged. "Doesn't mean you want me around forever."

"It does, actually," he disagreed. "Mayze, it's not that I don't want you here. There are so many things to becoming a vampire that you just can't comprehend. I love you so much that I can't bear to let that happen to you, much less be the one to make it happen. You suffer through a pain so immense that you just . . . words can't describe it. And, let's not even get to the fact that you lose your soul and become eternally damned."

I rolled my eyes. "You have a soul, Edward. We've talked about this before."

"Well, you're wrong," he said decisively, holding his chin up evenly as he looked me in the eye to say it. He said it with an odd confidence—rather annoying.

"You are," I said simply. "If you didn't have a soul, you wouldn't be able to love me. So, tell me you truthfully love me and have no soul. Without a soul, you can't exist. You can't love with the kind of love we share; the kind of love I share with any of your family. I'm telling you, Edward. You have a soul."

For a long while, an eternity it seemed—no pun intended—he stared down at me with joyous eyes, as if he was thinking over what I said intently. In the background, due to his silence, I heard _Façade _by **Disturbed **playing on the radio he had set up to make our time here that much better.

The delight in his eyes was mixed with other emotions from time to time, but when he finally spoke again, there was nothing but pure bliss.

"You just . . . Mayze, I'm not sure just how you did it, but you made me believe, for the first time since I even became a vampire, that I have a soul."

I beamed up at him. "So, you'll change me?"

He laughed blissfully and looked straight in front of him, propping back on his hands a little. "Calm down, Mayze. I have to talk to Carlisle first, make sure he thinks I can do it."

I smirked at him. "Jasper wins."

He gazed over at me now, eyes narrowing a little—only playfully, of course, but he made me laugh anyways. "You know about that?"

"He told me the other day," I said honestly, now smirking at him. "He told me when we were discussing how I have to become a vampire."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Mayze, you don't _have _to become a vampire."

I shook my head. "No, Edward, I actually do. When Dusk bit me, she injected venom into my nerves. The same thing happened to Laurent, and he said that the venom slowly spreads. Then, I'll eventually get to a point where I can't feel anything at all, and I either have to be changed or live the rest of my life neither human nor vampire, and I'd completely numb."

He rolled his eyes but gave me my favorite smile, making my heart race in my chest. "You would make sure Jasper wins."

"I wanted you to say you wanted to keep me," I admitted, shrugging. "It makes me feel better about it."

He leaned over and softly kissed me, his fingers coming up to rest along my jawbone. It was a sweet kiss, full of more love than any kiss yet.

Of course, since I'm me, I made sure it got turned into much, much more. After a few seconds of kissing him like that, I turned it into a heated, passionate, intimate kiss, one that had him on his back and me straddling him.

It was just a human reaction, to rub my tongue across his bottom lip. When I did this, I stiffened in his arms, ready for him to stop the kiss and make us both calm down. It was always pushing him a little too far when I did that.

Instead, though, he opened his mouth and used his own tongue to pull mine in, taking me by complete surprise. I went with it, though, because I wanted this, so badly.

After a good while, I was about to die if I didn't get air. Breathing through my nose only did so much for panting lungs. So, unfortunately, I had to pull away from him. But, when I pulled away, he started kissing my jawbone, where he made a trail of kisses down to my neck.

I felt him sucking on my neck again, and I giggled. It felt good, so I struggled to sound threatening. "Edward, if you give me another hicky . . . ."

He grinned against my skin, his cool breath tickling my skin all over again. "I think I just might."

"Charlie would . . . ." I frowned. "Not care. And who gives a shit what everyone else thinks?"

"Exactly," he breathed before sitting up and adjusting me to where I was sitting in his lap and looking directly at him. "I love you, Mayze."

I kissed his nose softly and smiled. "I love you too, Edward."

"Can I ask you a question?" he asked curiously, giving me that damned smile with a slight hint of nervousness added to it. It confused me, but I smiled and nodded anyways. He, before going on, kissed me tenderly for a few second—to calm himself. But, after that, he went on. "I love you, Mayzie, as I've already said quite literally sixty times today. You deserve to know, though, and I want to make sure you do."

"I do," I said honestly, laughing a little.

He was quiet for a minute. Instead of talking, he waited until the song changed to _Where Is My Head _by **Hey Monday**. "Do you want to dance?"

Before I could answer, he had us both on our feet. I was planning on saying, "Sure," because I would fly to the moon with him. But, he must've known that was what I was gonna say, so he just got right to it.

It didn't work to well, because it wasn't exactly a slow song, so we gave up about the middle of the first chorus. But, right as I started to sit down, he took my hand in his, palm to palm with his right hand covering up his other hand and mine.

I gazed up at him. "Yes, darling?"

He smiled, and before I could ask, he slowly got down on one knee, making me gasp in surprise. "Now, I know you're all anti-weddings and everything, but, Mayze, we're going to live forever together. I've agreed to change you myself, against my better judgment. All I ask for return is your hand in marriage. Elizabeth Malia Swan, I love you with all of my being, more than words could even begin to almost come close to _somewhat _slightly describing just an ounce of how much I love you. It's just . . . a love like no other. The point is, I do love you, and I will never leave you again. Will you marry me?"

I laughed softly, not really humorously. It was just odd to me. Earlier today, at school, he had told me it wasn't an engagement ring _yet_, and I had totally missed that. But, instead of making it super mushy and gross, I simply said, "Yes."

He opened the box to reveal a beautiful ring, beyond what I could even imagine. It had a gold band, and it was rather simple until it got to the stone. It was an oval shape, and it consisted of a bunch of little circles that made the oval.

After he slipped it on the appropriate finger, he was then standing up again, hugging me tightly against him. A happy sound—not exactly a squeal—escaped from my lips as he spun me in the air, the brightest smile I had _ever _seen plastered on his lips.

Just when I think his smiles can't get any brighter, they do.

When he put me down, he was kissing me again with more intensity than ever. It took me off guard, but I went along with it. We sat back down without bothering to separate. Within just a second of sitting down, I was on my back, and he was on top of me with his hard member pressing against my thigh.

It's odd to me how whenever I'm horny myself, I notice that he is too.

Well, I guess it's not really odd . . . .

It didn't even cross my mind when we both took my dress and his shirt off, along with all of my accessories. Until he moved to unhitch the hooks on my black, strapless bra, I wasn't even aware I was half naked.

I slipped out from under him as fast as I possibly could, a move that surprised him completely. Honestly, what I think surprised him the most was the sudden change of things, and then, the fact that _I _was getting out of something I had asked for struck him as odd too.

He looked up at me, confused since he was over the shock. "Mayze, I don't understand. This is what you wanted."

"Yes," I agreed quickly, nodding rigidly. "But, I just . . . ." I bit my lip. "I want to wait until we're married, Edward, because I want the honeymoon to be extra special."

He let out a scoff but smiled up at me almost as quickly as the sound had come out. "Just when I decide I can possibly do this without killing you, you _would _go and change your mind."

I sat back down beside him with a smile. "Then there shouldn't be any problems on the honeymoon."

He took my hands in his, kissing each of my fingers tenderly with great affection. "Mayze, you don't have to rush the wedding. We can wait a few years."

"I don't want to," I demanded, frowning. "I want to get married while I'm still human so I'll be able to experience that. And, I don't know how long I have until I _have _to be changed, so we really don't have much time."

He laughed. "Alright, Mayze. How does next week sound? Ooh. We could go to Vegas."

My lips pursed together. "Hmm. Tempting, but I think I'm gonna stick with the beginning of June, right after school gets out. That way, everyone has plenty of time to get everything ready, and then, we can plan to change me when we get back from the honeymoon."

His bottom lip poked out. "Mayzie, I honestly don't know if I can resist you that long." Then, his eyes drifted back down to my half naked body, which was pressed tightly against his. "Especially if this is a commonly reoccurring thing."

I laughed and pulled his lips to mine for a second. "I'm sorry. You're just so irresistible. I can't help it. But, for me, can you try?"

"Of course."

"We'll make a deal," I said simply, intertwining our fingers together. "When you absolutely cannot stand it anymore and you just need me beyond what I can even comprehend, fine."

"Mayze, I'm not going to force my needs onto you if you don't want to do it too," he whispered, almost inaudibly. With that statement, he had to look away from me, and I knew why.

He was trying to hide his pain from the whole event that _did _happen to me, something he inwardly blamed himself for letting happen. He was comparing himself to the sick bastard that left me stranded in the woods to die after brutally torturing and raping me.

Edward was _nothing _like Blade, and the two situations were _nothing _alike.

I pulled his face back around so that he was looking at me, eye-to-eye. "Edward Anthony Masen-Cullen, I want you too—need you even. But, I'm just a simple human. I can't even imagine how hard it is for _you _to resist me. I mean, I'm having enough trouble as it is, so I can't imagine how hard it is for _you_. The point is, I don't know how hard it is for you, so I can't just say no, because I'm not the one making the decisions. We make them together, and love requires sacrifices. That's a sacrifice I will _gladly _make if necessary. Just promise me that you'll go as long as you can possibly bear."

"I promise, Mayze."


	24. 23: Defense

**sorry i didn't update yesterday, and i was gonna update sooner today, but i'm sick, and i've been lazy and sleeping all day...:/ sorry. but here it is. i'm having to actually write new chapters starting with 26, so if it takes longer to update...sorry! i'll try and keep them just as regular, though. :)**

**R&R for more. :)**

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><p><strong>27. The Fight: Avenged Sevenfold<strong>

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><p>We were on the blanket in the meadow making out, like I had never imagined possible—so hard and so passionately. Occasionally, we would roll around and change who was on top, but usually, he was.<p>

I liked that, but I also wanted to be in control.

Things got so heated and intimate that it was hot—literally—even though he was colder than ice. Edward ended up in his boxers at one point, and for a while, I was topless—with my bra on, of course. This, of course, made things even more concupiscent, but it didn't bother either one of us one bit.

Honestly, I can't tell you what time I finally gave up and went to sleep, because I don't know. But, I can tell you that it wasn't the same night that we started making out. Occasionally, between kisses, we would talk about stuff, pant that we love each other, and whatnot, but up until Saturday morning, we were mostly kissing.

And I fell asleep in his arms. Instead of sleeping in my dress, I just put on his shirt. When I slept, I had grown accustomed to sleeping in no wire bra, so I stole his shirt, took off my bra, and slept in just his shirt and underwear. He didn't look while I was changing. I know so, because he was turned around, and I was facing him the entire time. He _wanted _to, but he didn't.

He held me while I slept, and he was in just boxers too; which, let me tell you, is the sexiest sight I have seen so far, although I know one that I'm gonna think is even sexier one day. I've missed his well-defined muscular absolutely sexy chest.

And it was such a turn on.

That night, I slept better than I ever remember sleeping.

When I woke up, he was looking at me, watching me with those adoring eyes again. It was so comfortable, to wake up this way, and it was how I was looking forward to waking up for the rest of my human life.

"Can we tell Charlie first?" I asked curiously, voice soft.

"Of course, love," he murmured, knowing what I was referring to instantly. "I need to ask his permission before it's official anyways."

I rolled my eyes but smiled, unable to _not _smile. "I feel like I'm being courted."

"You aren't," he promised me tenderly, although either way worked for me. "Of course, if I was courting you, we would already be married. We would've been married back when we first met."

"Say we were still back in your human years, right before you were a vampire," I said brightly, thinking about all I knew of the time. "Would you have courted me if you saw me?"

"Without a doubt," he whispered, kissing my forehead tenderly. "I probably would've courted you the same day."

That pleased me, a lot, to the point I beamed at him. "Really?"

"Really, Mayze," he said gently, kissing my hands softly. "So, shall we tell Charlie now?"

I was slightly nervous as we turned onto the street where Charlie's house was. Charlie _loved _Edward, more than I could've imagined possible. After all, I'm his little girl. But, he did love him.

This was different, though. I'm not even seventeen just yet. Sure, I will be in December, but I'm not yet. Yet here I was, engaged and ready to be married when summer rolls along.

I just didn't know how well this was gonna go over. That's all I was worried about, because even though Charlie could stop me from getting married until next December, I knew he wouldn't. He just might not be too happy . . . .

When we pulled into the driveway, the way Edward tightened indicated that something was wrong. One glance at the vehicles here and I knew what it was.

Jacob was here.

Charlie's cruiser was too, so we had to go inside. Jacob was peeking out through Bella's window, watching us with a dark look in his already dark brown eyes.

Edward looked over at me with an irate expression. "This makes things more complicated."

"What?" I asked softly with raised eyebrows.

He laughed as he glanced over at me, studying my appearance thoroughly. Whatever it was that pissed him off wasn't as important as whatever it was he was laughing at me about. "You look quite sexy. You have sex hair."

I grinned at him. "Seriously?"

"They'll think that's what we were doing," he pointed out, glancing down at me. If I didn't know better, I would say he was looking down his shirt. But, I _did _know better. "Especially since you're completely in my clothes."

I bit my lip. "Well . . . I mean, your clothes are way more comfortable, and much warmer."

He rolled his eyes with that grin still plastered on his lip. "You just wanted to be in my clothes. Admit it."

"Okay, so, I did," I scowled. "But, they really are more comfortable."

"Emmett will demand a thorough explanation when we get home, though," he admitted. "You came in with sex hair, my shirt, and that was it. Sure, he was the only one who saw you, but still. He will demand an explanation."

"And I'll tell him," I said lightly.

He didn't wait anymore to rush around and open my door, but this time, I was able to react fast enough to where I was opening it right as he was.

"Damn it," I murmured. "So close."

"Please just let me do this," he whispered, his arms wrapping around my waist as he pulled me tightly against his ice cold body. "I owe you the world, and so much more, so this is the least I can do. If I can give you nothing else, at least let me have this."

I kissed him softly before giving him a gentle smile. "Okay, baby. You can have that."

He returned that smile with my absolute favorite one. "Thank you."

"But, I disagree with that," I informed him, our hands lacing together as we headed inside. "You don't owe me anything. If anything, _I _owe _you_."

He stared at me, completely horrified. "Mayze, you—"

"Edward!" Embry exclaimed suddenly, opening the door with a grin as he cut him off. "What's up, man?"

Edward laughed, allowing his mind to temporarily clear out what I had just said. "Hey, Embry! I'm just here talking to Charlie. What about you?"

He titled his head towards me, grinning. "Takin' a break after lookin' after that one. She's a handful."

"I know," Edward murmured, eyes now on me. "She definitely is."

"Worth it though," Embry added cheerfully, just when I started to pout.

"Most definitely."

I rolled my eyes but grinned at the two. "Is Seth here too?"

Embry nodded. "Yeah. We came by to talk to Charlie, 'cause we're getting bored in La Push, and then, we were actually gonna call and see if you guys were up to anything."

Seth appeared behind him then with the biggest grin. "Our ban has been lifted!"

"Yes!" I exclaimed, slapping him a forceful high five that made my hand burn. "Damn it, that hurt."

Edward grimaced. "Um . . . Mayzie, I think we should . . . no. We have to talk to Charlie . . . ."

"He's out back, looking for something in the shed, or something," Seth informed him. "Or, wait. You probably already knew that."

Embry winced. "And you probably know that Jake's standing behind me ready to murder you . . . ."

Jacob was in Edward's face right about then. "You stupid, filthy _leech_."

Edward rolled his eyes. "Relax, pup. It won't happen again."

My eyebrows furrowed. "What are you guys talking about? Jacob, back off, okay? We're here to talk to Charlie, not _you_."

He snarled. "Stay out of this, Mayze! This doesn't concern you, so just shut up!"

In that moment, Edward seemed to just lose it. At the same time, he seemed to have more control than I had ever seen in him. With a forceful shove, Jacob was sent stumbling back inside.

Edward stepped inside, and when I tried to, he held a hand up to keep me back. Of course, when he walked towards Jacob, I came inside anyways, despite Embry and Seth's protests. It was my house!

Jacob retaliated to Edward's push by punching him in the face. Or, he tried to anyways. Edward dodged it rather easily.

"If you _ever _say _anything _like that to her again—"

"Don't you _dare _talk to _my _Bella like that!" Jacob roared, fighting the urge to try and hit him again. "You're lucky I don't rip you to shreds and dance around your burning pieces, leech! You had absolutely no right to say _any _of that!"

"I know that!" Edward shouted in his face, silencing Jacob instantly. "Don't you think I haven't hated myself for it? In case your precious Bella didn't mention it, I at least apologized for it. It was completely uncalled for, and an apology doesn't make it better. It was a mistake, and if I must, I will apologize to you too, Jacob. I'm sorry. I did not mean to lose it like that. My control was edgy. I'm better now, but don't push me. Your girlfriend needs to back off and leave Mayze alone! If she doesn't stop trying to make her life hell, I'll do it again without a single care in the fucking world!"

At least he still said fuck.

"Yeah, well, if your bitchy little whore of a girlfriend doesn't back off and stop trying to hurt Bella, she'll need more than just you to protect her from me," Jacob threatened.

In just one instant, because that was all the time I really had to think, I was frozen in shock. I'm a whore now? A bitch? Yeah, I might be a bitch, but I'm not a whore. And, what is he gonna do to me? I'd like to see him _try _me! I may not be able to do anything, but he'll be in so much trouble, not only with his pack but also the Cullens. They'll kill him—Emmett, Jasper, Edward, Rosalie, and Alice anyways.

I know what you're thinking. Rosalie cares enough to kill him over you? No. She just wants to kill them, Jacob especially.

Edward's eyes, jaw, and fists tightened, but he didn't have to do anything. Embry and Seth stopped him before he could.

"Jacob!" Embry yelled, shoving him back himself. "Don't say that bullshit! What the hell does that solve? And that's necessary? At least the shit Edward said to Bella was true!"

Jacob reared back and punched him in the face, which is where Edward and Seth intervened. Seth was pulling Embry back to stop him from kicking his ass, and Edward was in his face, glaring deep into his eyes.

"I dare you to do that one more time," Edward hissed.

Jacob rolled his eyes. "Chill, you filthy bloodsucker. It was an accident. Embry knows that. Momentary lapse of control. I'm fine. Back off!" To enforce this, he pushed Edward back.

"Try me," Edward warned darkly, making Jacob cringe back a little in fear. "Say another fucking thing. I can promise you that if you so much as even _think _about harming a hair on her head, you're dead. I won't think twice about it. I _will _kill you, and I _will _enjoy every second of it." Then, he was smirking at Jacob. "Soon, though, I won't have to worry about that. Mayze will be able to take you herself."

Jacob started shaking with rage, which Embry and Seth instantly reacted to. Yes, they were still pissed at him, beyond belief, but Bella was in here, and so was I. It wasn't exactly safe to be near a werewolf when they phase.

I got lucky last time.

Charlie came back in about then, right as they got him out the front door and into the woods. He looked confused, with furrowed eyebrows to help iterate that, but when he saw Edward and me, he smiled.

"Well, hello, you two. I was actually about to head out. I didn't think you would be back until tomorrow."

"We're just here to talk to you for a moment," Edward informed him softly, trying his best to be nice and calm about the situation. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to murder Jacob Black, and I wanted nothing more than to stand back and let him.

Okay, fine. I can't lie. I don't want Jacob dead. He's still one of my best friends, my brother. But, right now, he was going way too far with this. Soon, it wouldn't surprise me if I _did _get to the point where I wanted him dead.

Would becoming a vampire bring that point?

I didn't want to ever get there, but I knew if this kept up, I would.

Charlie nodded. "Of course. What is it?"

I took a deep breath. "Okay, Dad. You know, I'm graduating in May, along with Bella. No, I'm not gonna be eighteen or anything, but I'll at least be seventeen, almost there."

"Just come out with it, Mayze," Charlie grinned, rolling his eyes. "I don't have all day for you to beat around the bush."

"Well, Charlie," Edward said gently, captivating his attention with just one look into his eyes. "As you have figured out by now, I am in love with your daughter. I'm sure you've heard that she'll have to become a vampire."

"Yes," Charlie agreed. "I was here for that conversation."

"We're not sure how long we have until she has to become one," Edward continued, now a little nervous. "She wants to get in some human experiences while still human. I was wondering if I had your permission to marry your daughter."

This took Charlie by complete surprise, and for a few moments, I wondered if he was about to have a heart attack.

"What?" Bella shrieked. "You're getting married? Mayze, you're _sixteen_!"

I rolled my eyes. "Chill, Bella. We won't get married until June, after school is said and done. That in itself is risking it."

She snorted. "You have no one but yourself to blame for this mess. What's the rush to get married? Got something you're trying to hide?"

My eyes narrowed. "Shut up, Bella. He got back _yesterday_. There hasn't even been time for that. Do your math. That wouldn't work. I'll have you know, though, that it isn't even a possibility, even if he _was _back in plenty of time."

"I'm sure."

"I don't give a fuck what you think," I hissed, shrugging. "You can believe what you want, but I have the facts."

"I think that's a great idea," Charlie finally said happily, ignoring our argument. "I don't see why you would wait anyways. After this summer, you're stuck together forever anyways, and I'm sure there will be temptations."

"That was part of it," Edward agreed, nodding. "Neither one of us want to go against, well, the way I was raised."

Charlie smiled and shook his head firmly. "Welcome to the family, Edward." Then, he laughed a little. "As if you weren't already family."

"You have got to be kidding me!" Bella shrieked as she stomped up the stairs, dramatizing everything.

I kissed Charlie's cheek before hugging him tightly. "Thank you so much, Dad! I was kinda worried, because I'm only gonna be seventeen . . . ."

"These are special circumstances," Charlie said honestly.

Right about then, Embry and Seth walked back in, still highly pissed off but calmer than when they left.

Charlie grinned at them. "Hey, you two. Guess what I just found out."

Embry and Seth both glanced at us warily, giving us strange looks, before looking back to Charlie.

"Um, I have no idea," Seth finally said.

I laughed and held up my left hand. "We're getting married."


	25. 24: Phone Call

**sorry for not updating yesterday. :\ I was sick. I still am, but I'm gonna update.**

**R&R for more. :) it's about to get WAY different. XD but different is good, in my opinion. :)**

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><p><strong>28. The Call: Regina Spektor<strong>

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><p>Things between Jacob and Edward didn't get better. In all honesty, I would say they got worse.<p>

The Cullens and the pack, of course, heard about the confrontation, and they were furious—both sides. Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie, Alice, and Edward all wanted to kill some of the pack, Jacob in particular. Edward, after hearing I tried to see if I could move on with Jared only to get crushed again when he met Kim, wanted to kill Jared almost as much as he wanted to kill Jacob. Rosalie wanted to kill all of them, but Jasper and Alice didn't seem to mind Seth, Embry, Quil, and Leah. The rest of them? Yeah, and, like I said before, Jacob especially.

It was almost time for school to be out for Christmas break, and I was so ready for it. Time was flying by as preparations for everything began. Not only did I have to get my wedding together, but I had to study for exams. They started tomorrow, and I had to pass them to keep the schedule going. And, on top of that, I had to deal with the stress of my older sister and me fighting all the time; the drama between vampires and werewolves, somehow keeping myself enough in the middle to where nothing happened; and the nightmares . . . .

The nightmares I had after Blade, what he did, didn't stop. Yeah, they slowed down, but they were still there. Sometimes, they were even worse than before, scarier. It was like he was somewhere making them this way from some distant place.

But, during this break, I was gonna relax, let the stress and fears disappear and fade away. All I was gonna focus on was Edward with _maybe _some wedding plans here and there. Even that, though, probably wouldn't happen.

Well, I'll have to keep the werewolf/vampire drama from turning into something unnecessary, but that shouldn't be too bad.

I was running away again, but this time, I knew where I was running. Deep in the cold, dark, wet winter woods with nothing but a ravenous vampire chasing after me, hunting me for blood—revenge—I was running for Edward.

Of course, running from a vampire is useless, especially when he knows where you and everyone you care about live. Even when you're in the process of becoming a vampire, it's still useless.

All of the sudden, he appeared in front of me, that same wicked grin on his lips as he had the entire time before . . . .

"No," I breathed, stepping away from him. "Edward!"

He grabbed me by my shirt only so that he could rip it off as he threw me onto the ground. "Eddie's not here, Mayzie, dear. Screaming for him is pointless. I told you I would be back."

"No!" I gasped, bolting up in the bed. In that process, I nearly collided with Edward, who was laying beside me, and I had woken up a sleeping Auggie. When I stared at him, wide-eyed, he realized what had just happened in an instant.

"Another dream . . . ."

I swallowed and nodded stiffly, finding the action rather hard. I didn't have to use my words, which was good, because I wasn't one hundred percent sure I could.

He pulled me into his arms gently, holding me close to his chest. "Mayzie, baby, he's not going to hurt you. I won't let him."

"I know," I whispered, voice hoarse and raspy.

He sighed. "Good."

When I finally took a good look at him, after a few more minutes of just sitting in his arms, I realized that he had changed already, so he wouldn't have to go into the bathroom and change or anything. Charlie knew about him staying in my room with me at nights, but he trusted us, so he didn't care. Edward could just park the car in the driveway and leave it there. Alice would just run over here, because she didn't mind, and it made things easier.

It was still dark outside, and it was snowing too. The violent wind was smashing the limbs of the tree into my window, but it was usual. The windows here in Forks seemed to be stronger than they were back in Phoenix.

I picked up my phone to see what time it was. If it was too early, I would go back to sleep. If it wasn't too early but not quite late enough to get up, I would talk to Edward. If it was really close to time to get up, which I highly doubted, then I would just go ahead and get up.

Three seventeen . . . hmm . . . .

Right when I put my phone back down on my bedside table, it started playing _Bring the Ruckus _quite loudly.

My eyebrows furrowed, but I answered it, since that's what phones are for nowadays. "Um, Em?"

"You're up!" he exclaimed brightly, almost as if he would laugh if he was here. "Up to anything? Showing Edward what manhood is like by chance?"

I rolled my eyes. "Emmett, we've already told you. We're not having sex until the honeymoon. Period."

Edward's lips started hungrily kissing down my neck, making me blink in surprise. Usually, he got irritated with Emmett's usual questions, but he seemed to be embracing it, which only made sticking to our usual answer harder than it already was.

I sucked in a quick breath.

"What was that?" Emmett asked curiously. "A gasp of pleasure, perhaps?"

"You are seriously too obsessed with our nonexistent sex life," I said firmly. "Get a new interest. Ooh. Here's a thought. Worry about your own. From what I hear, Rose is mad at you."

"She's not anymore, but she and Esme went out hunting together, just the two of them," he informed me. "So, I've got no one else's to worry about. Jasper and Alice are doing it as we speak, and, well, that leaves you two."

"I really didn't need to know that."

His deep, booming laugh echoed through the speakers. "I know, but I told you anyways."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm aware of that, Em."

"So, I've got something to tell you," he said brightly, changing the subject.

"If it's about my sex life, or anyone else's, for that matter—sex in general—I'm hanging up," I warned.

"It's not," he assured me. "I'm drinking orange juice."

Edward rolled his eyes. "Em, blood in an orange juice carton is not orange juice."

He grunted. "You, Edward, are a fun killer."

Edward just rolled his eyes and kissed my forehead softly. "I'll be right back, love."

"I'll be right back, love," Emmett mimicked with a teasing tone. "Gosh, Edward, you have got to get back to the Edward we all know and love. I mean, you're just so different around her."

Edward's eyebrows furrowed. "I'm not different, Em."

But, before I could protest, he ran out. Auggie debated going with him, but when she saw me still sitting on my bed, she changed her mind and just laid back down to go to sleep.

I scowled. "Are too."

"I know!" he exclaimed. "Anyways, wanna know something else?"

"Sex related?"

"Not at all," he said honestly. "I'm having a trashcan party tonight. Wanna come?"

"What in the hell is a trashcan party?" I asked slowly, unsure if I wanted to know or not.

But, the mention of the word party reminded me of something . . . .

Today was my seventeenth birthday.

I was seventeen.

Holy shit.

"Is it illegal to make random trees in the woods by my house explode?" I heard him ask, right as I came back to my senses and Edward sat down on the bed beside me, looking at the phone as if it was the oddest thing he had ever seen.

I laughed. "I'm fairly certain there's a law against that."

"Will I go to jail?"

"No, no," I murmured, eyes now locked on Edward. "Probably just a fine."

"Sweet!" he exclaimed, making me jump a little in surprise. "I know what I'm gonna do today!"

"Oh no," Edward groaned, falling back on the bed. "Emmett, do you remember what happened the last time you tried to blow random trees up?"

There was a few seconds of pause on the other end before Emmett's voice came through again, soft and almost child-like. "Yeah . . . ."

"Remind me again," Edward said lightly, voice full of humor. At the same time, though, I could tell he was one hundred percent serious.

"Tanya's hair caught on fire, and she had to get it cut to fix it . . . and she almost killed me . . . and it almost burnt the Denalis' house down."

"Uh huh," Edward said firmly. "Don't do it, Emmett. With Mayze's luck, she'll some how get caught in it."

He sighed. "Fine. Oh shit! Um, Mayzie-pop? I think there's an evil ninja hiding in my closet!"

"There is no evil ninja hiding in your closet," I said firmly, gazing at Edward with confused eyes.

He simply shrugged and mouthed, "It's Emmett."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," I said slowly.

"I think there is," he disagreed.

I slowly shook my head. "What the fuck? You're a vampire! Why does it even matter?"

"I don't know."

"You need help," I said firmly. "I'm about to hang up."

He started maniacally laughing, before I could even start to pull the phone away. "Why? Are you gonna try to get a good blow job in before school?"

I just threw my phone across the room and into the wall, eyes tight and arms folded over my chest in my stubborn sort of way.

Edward walked over and pressed the end button for me with a bright, yet small, smile spread across his lips. "You know he's just messing with you, Mayzie, right?"

"I know," I sighed. "It's just, I'm having a hard enough time resisting as it is, and he's not helping."

Right about then, my phone started ringing again. This time, it was _Have Faith In Me _by **A Day to Remember**, which was a ringtone I hadn't heard in _forever_. It was so surprising that I had to see the name on my caller ID to actually believe it.

"Oliver!" I squeaked, surprising Edward completely.

His soothing, warm laugh calmed me down a little, because I was _freaking_. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Now that I've gotten that out . . . hey, Mayzie-boo. What have you been up to, dearest?"

"Oh, nothing much," I said casually, laughing a little at Edward's tight expression. "Just going to school, falling in love, getting engaged—the usual."

I could almost _hear _him roll his eyes. "Of course. You find _no one _here in Phoenix, and you move to a small town like Spoons—"

"Forks," I corrected.

"Forks," he changed. "Whatever. And you're engaged before you're even seventeen."

I smiled sweetly, even though he wouldn't see me. "Yeah . . . ."

"When do I need to fly up for the wedding?"

"You totally just read my mind," I said brightly. "It's at the beginning of June." I glanced at Edward, and he just held up a four, knowing that's what I was talking about. "June fourth. You should come up before, as in, you know, as soon as school gets out."

"Of course," he laughed. "So, tell me about this fiancé of yours, and I'll tell you about how things have been with me."

I couldn't help it when that bright smile, my Edward smile, spread across my lips, and it calmed Edward down a little. "Well, Oliver, I don't know where to start."

"Personality, and then tell me how hot you think he is," he suggested. "Because I know that's coming."

I grinned. "Of course. Well, he's . . . my exact dream guy. When I say that, I mean that quite literally. He's funny; sweet, but not too sweet; mysterious; unexpected; strong, beyond what you would believe; muscular; tall; and, Oliver, I could go on, but I'm sure you don't have that much time, and you're gonna meet him soon anyways." I gasped. "You should come up here for Christmas!"

"I actually was calling to talk to you about that, partially," he said honestly. "I've missed you too damn much, Mayzie-boo. Of course, Brooklyn really doesn't care, but Sapphire, Brynk, Karma, and I all miss you."

I sighed. "I miss you guys so much."

"I know," he laughed. "But, back to you and your fiancé. Go ahead. Say it. I know you want to."

I grinned up at Edward, who was giving me a curious look. "Well . . . I'm just gonna be honest. He's fucking sexy, Oliver. I'm talking sexy, emphasis on the sex part."

"Because that's probably what you've got on your mind right now," he said simply, rolling his eyes. I knew this because I knew Oliver. "You, Mayzie-boo, have to be the horniest girl I know. I mean, you never fantasized about an actual person. It was always about this dream guy of yours."

I laughed. "Yes, and they're one and the same."

"Exactly?"

"No," I disagreed, uselessly shaking my head. "He's much better—much, much, _much _sexier than I would've imagined. He could turn men gay, but he wouldn't be gay with them. He's just too straight for that. It would be a hit and run kinda thing."

Edward simply couldn't hold it back. When Oliver simply just said, "Wow," he busted out laughing.

"Is he there?" Oliver asked curiously. "Lemme talk to him!"

I scowled. "Shouldn't you be going to school, or getting ready for it anyways?"

"It's not even four thirty in the morning," Oliver snorted. "Are _you _getting ready? Wait. Why in the hell is he there anyways? Your dad lets him stay the night there?"

I bit my lip. "Yeah . . . ."

There was a pause, but only a brief one. "And you're still a virgin, right?"

"Yes," I said honestly. "Trust me on that one, Oliver. We both want to wait until we're married."

He laughed. "While you secretly both want each other, right?"

"I want to talk to him," Edward insisted, shocking me completely.

I was gawking at him. "Um, yeah. Oliver . . . he wants to talk to you . . . and I'm kinda worried. Don't embarrass me, okay?"

"Oh, you _know _I will," he laughed. "Yes!"

I just handed Edward the phone and hurried over to the computer, where I logged on and planned to check my Facebook. I had made one back in Phoenix, and I couldn't even remember the last time I checked it.

If I distracted myself, I wouldn't be embarrassed.

"Oh, hell yeah," Edward said brightly, making me blink. "She really makes me sound way better than I really am."

"You're amazing," I said firmly. "Get the fuck over it."

Damn. One hundred and forty-seven notifications, two hundred and six friend requests, and seventy-two messages?

I just scanned over the notifications, not really looking at any of them, and then, I decided to look at the friend requests.

Mostly all of them were people here at Forks.

So they had found me. Interesting.


	26. 25: Home Cooking

**well, here ya go. :D**

**this story has changed so much from the original. you don't even know. like...wow. it's kinda scary looking back and realizing where it is.**

**anyways...**

**imma put more up tonight. this is just the first of many. :)**

**R&R first, though. :D**

**and i must say. Paramore? :D i LOVE them. i think, if you think about the definition of "favorite band," they're one of the top that i've loved the longest, up there with Three Days Grace, Skillet, and Breaking Benjamin. as soon as i heard Paramore (and all the others XD) i was a fan. now, i still love them.**

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><p><strong>29. That's What You Get: Paramore<strong>

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><p>I didn't usually like getting the attention of being told happy birthday, but I wondered why Edward hadn't said it yet. It was almost as if he had completely forgotten.<p>

He talked to Oliver for over an hour. It was pretty weird. After about thirty minutes into their conversation, he got his number, and they talked on his phone.

So, of course, I naturally texted Sapphire to see if she was awake. She thankfully was, so I called her and told her all about Edward. I didn't bother calling Brooklyn, 'cause she and I weren't exactly the best of friends. And, if I tell her I'm engaged, I'll get a four hour long bitch out session on how stupid I'm being—even though she's engaged to some cheating bastard herself.

And I just don't wanna hear it.

Sapphire, who was also getting fed up with Brooklyn—now more so than me, since she's been living with her all of this time when I haven't—promised not to tell her until a week or so before they left to come out here.

She said they would just come out with Oliver.

Brooklyn and I were the same age, but Sapphire, Oliver, and I were in the same grade. We also have two other friends, Brynk and Karma, who are seventeen, about to be eighteen. Even though they're twins, they don't really look alike, but they're twins, nonetheless.

I only got to talk to Karma this morning. Brynk was in the shower when I called, so I didn't get to talk to her. She promised to call me after school, though.

Anyways, Karma, Brynk, Oliver, and Sapphire were all set to come not only as soon as school let out, but over Christmas break too. We—meaning Edward—were providing the round trip tickets.

They just didn't know it yet, and they wouldn't until they received them in the mail, because, otherwise, they would protest.

I spent extra time picking out what I was wearing today. I wanted to look awesome today, because I only turn seventeen once. It would be the last birthday I have as a human.

So, I decided to wear a pair of black fishnet tights; a green camouflage miniskirt with a black leather belt studded with silver studs; my black combat boots; a black loose fitting, cotton tank with _Support the troops_ written across the center in green; a black, thick cotton zip-up Puma hoodie, and my green camouflage cadet cap.

My hair was, of course, straightened, but it was getting long, so I was able to put it in an awesome sideways ponytail with my bang-type things poking out under the cap in a pretty kickass way.

Not to brag or anything.

Edward wrapped his arms around my waist when I walked out of my closet, my bright green eye shadow, black eyeliner, and black mascara already on. "Very sexy."

After he kissed me, I smiled up at him. "Thank you. Did you enjoy talking to my best friend who is practically my brother?"

He nodded. "Oliver is awesome, Mayzie. I was jealous at first, especially when he called you Mayzie-boo, but I was wrong to think he had feelings for you other than brother/sister feelings."

I grinned. "He got over his crush a couple years ago. But, Edward, are you sure getting them tickets is no big deal?"

"I'm positive," he said simply. "Mayzie, look at it this way. Carlisleis four hundred years old. He works as a surgeon, a very amazing one at that. He gets paid a _lot _just doing that. Now, pile that across about four hundred years; _plus _all of my large inheritance, his own, and Esme's; _plus _our stock investments—purchases helped greatly with a psychic sister. We have so much money that we don't know what to do with it. Like, for instance, we have stacks of money hiding in each of our closets, because we have too much in our _many _foreign bank accounts as it is."

I blinked. "Okay, wow. Although I already knew about the stacks, of course."

He nodded. "That's why I need you to just trust me when I say it's no big deal. That's part of the reason why I want to give you the world, because I very well could. You just get so upset when I

do . . . ."

I grimaced. "If you promise not to go way too overboard, I promise to let you get me things without complaining."

He kissed me quickly, and in his mind, I could already see the wheels turning. "Thank you, love."

Right about then, I heard a knock on the door downstairs. Of course, I knew it wasAlice. Everyone did.

So, Edward and I both descended the stairs with my backpack on my shoulder and our fingers intertwined.

"Alice, I told you not to even bother knocking," Charlie insisted as he continued putting on his police belt and his gun in its proper holster. "Our home is your home. You're family now, even more so than you were before the engagement."

She smiled sheepishly at him. "I'm sorry, Charlie. It slipped my mind." She glanced at me. "Any plans for tonight, Mayzie-pop?"

I shook my head. "None. Why?"

She shrugged. "No reason. I was wondering if we could finish up on some important wedding details before Christmas break comes around. I want us to just be able to chill and enjoy this break."

I grinned at her. "Oh, believe me, we will." I looked at Charlie. "Hey, Dad. Guess what."

He glanced down at me. "What?"

"My four best friends fromPhoenixare flying up here for Christmas break, the entire break," I said eagerly, squealing a little. Then, I frowned. "I just realized something. We don't have room for them here . . . ."

"We do," Edward input. "As a matter of fact, we have room for all of them, you, Charlie, and Bella."

Alicenodded. "Yep. I'm not so sure Bella would want to come, though."

Charlie sighed. "I'm afraid not. I can't just leave her here by herself. Just promise me you'll stop by on Christmas and visit from time to time, and I'll just let you go there while your friends are here."

I squealed. "Thank you so much, Dad! This is awesome! Okay. So, Esme said they should get the tickets Wednesday, and their flights are supposed to arrive about five Saturday afternoon. This is turning out to be quite amazing."

Edward smiled. "Yeah, Mayzie, it is."

It was surprising when we went through the entire school day. Edward, nor Alice, said happy birthday to me once. Even _Bella _said it! But, neither of them did. Honestly, I wasn't sure if they had forgotten.

I mean, they don't forget things, but for some reason, it's just not clicking. Even when I hint how Edward and I are both seventeen now, they still don't understand.

Ugh. Confusing vampires.

When we got to the Cullen's house, I was surprised to see everyone _busy_. There was a lot of furniture and furniture boxes laying around, and Rose did _not _look happy. Jasper was busy taking suitcases downstairs, and everyone simply looked _busy_. Even Esme was in the kitchen cooking away. From the smell of it, she was trying everything.

"Mayze!" she called the moment the door shut. "Sweetheart, can you come in here for a moment? I need you to try something for me."

Edward took my jacket from me and nodded his head towards the kitchen. "Go on. I'll take your stuff to our room."

As soon as he said it, he saw the way that made me smile brilliantly, and he couldn't help but smile back. He even laughed a little—the purely blissful laugh—and leaned over to quickly kiss me. Alice was smiling too, simply because she was truly happy for us. With the kiss, he disappeared upstairs, and I practically danced into the kitchen. Of course, I really wasn't dancing, and the phrase "tripping over everything" would've been a little more accurate, because I practically did.

Esme was smiling warmly at me as she gestured to the table absolutely _full _of all kinds of food. "I wanted to make sure, since we're having so many new people over who can't know, that my cooking doesn't seem strange. Is it too nasty? Please be honest, dear. You won't hurt my feelings in the slightest bit."

I couldn't do anything but gawk at the table to start. There was so much food! The best part about the food was that I could name everything. She even made homemade doughnuts! It was so much that I couldn't do anything with it for a minute.

Edward came in the kitchen after me, and he could already tell what my dilemma was. So, what does he do?

He picked for me, the doughnut.

I took a bite and instantly fell in love. To be honest, I'm surprised I didn't turn into a big pile of goop on the floor, because these were _literally _the best doughnuts I had ever tasted.

I took a deep breath and grinned from ear-to-ear at her. "Esme, those are amazing. Too amazing for words to describe. The only thing I'm worried about is whether or not they'll believe a human made those."

The two in here, and some in the other room, laughed at that, and she simply kissed my forehead before gesturing to the rest.

I took a deep breath and stared at my little place of heaven on earth. So much food . . . for _me _to try.

It was already the best birthday _ever_. I didn't even notice when everyone in the house, except Esme, left.

Not even when Edward disappeared for a while.

It was just _amazing_. Everything was so good! It was perfect, beyond what words could describe. For someone who never had to cook and hadn't in decades, Esme was _incredible_. She was the best cook I had ever had the pleasure of eating her food!

I was now gonna miss being able to do that.


	27. 26: Present Time

**:\**

**saddness? yes. why? I FORGOT TO MENTION A DAY TO REMEMBER!**

**how do you FORGET A Day to _REMEMBER_?**

**T.T i found a way. because they're another one to add to my now five band list. that's it, though. only five. T.T**

**how could i-sheesh.**

**anyways, R&R for more. :) i'm working on typing up ch. 30. it's coming to an end soon. Together that is. the sequel, Torn . . . it's coming up. i haven't even started editing that one!**

**this ought be fun. XD it also means updates will slow, but i'll do my best.**

**i also have to get back with Secrets That Haunt Us. a Maximum Ride fanfic of mine, which i've been so mean about and slacking . . . . but i will continue. promise.**

**just keep on reading, reviewing, and most importantly, enjoying. :)**

**while you also enjoy listening to this AMAZING song. :D it's one of the happier, funner A Day to Remember songs. :) i absolutely love it, though. it's so catchy, and it's just...ah. :) you should most definitely listen to it and see for yourself.**

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><p><strong>30. Right Where You Want Me to Be: A Day to <span>Remember<span>**

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><p>I had to give up after a while, and we all know how much I <em>hate <em>admitting defeat. There was no way to try it all, though, so Esme called Charlie, Embry, and Seth to come help me out. When she called them, she began making more.

Oh, but it was good.

Alice surprised me when she came into the living room, where Jasper and I were playing _Modern Warfare 3_. We were in the middle of an online fight when she first came in, but once the match was over, she bounced her way over beside me and smiled brightly. Before I could ask if she needed anything, she took the controller out of my hands and held a foreign garment bag up for me to see.

"Try this on for me," she pleaded. "It'll look _amazing_ on you. I can never tell your . . . style, if you will, of clothes, but I think you'll like this. Just try it on for me, please?"

I sighed and began to stand up. "Okay. For you, Alice."

She squealed her usual trill of delight and handed me the bag, which was heavier than I expected—almost like she had shoes in there too, heavy ones. "Come down here and show us all when you get it on!"

"Okay," I groaned, and I trudged my way upstairs with the garment bag in hand. I was a little nervous because as I've stated before, Alice and I don't have similar fashion senses. Polar opposites would be the most accurate term to describe them.

I decided to try it on in our room so I couldn't see it and find myself unable to go downstairs. When I pulled it out, I was surprised. It wasn't really _me_ necessarily, but it was beautiful. I really didn't mind wearing it.

It was a sparkly mocha color. It was one of those dresses with the short, flirty sort of tutu skirt and the corset like midriff section. It was spaghetti strapped with a sweetheart style cut at the top, and I fell in love when I slid it on. It had a button-up sweater—the kind I didn't mind wearing over dresses—to go with it, and I was thankful, due to the fact that Edward and I hadn't discussed my arms yet . . . . The only problem I had with it was the belt, and normally, I would've taken it off and found another belt. Right now, though, I couldn't because the shoes—or shoe, since I'm still in my boot—she got to go with it were pink, the same light pink color as the flower on the belt. **(A/N: I can attempt to find a picture, if you'd like, but this and the shoes are things I recently got and loved, even if it DID have the belt. It just fit here, though, so I can try to find a picture, if you want. Or i could take one of mine? Anyways, if requested, I'll do my best to put it up. :)**

I mean they are pink—sparkly too, and they're _six inches_. Does she not realize that this is _not _a good idea, especially with the boot?

I whimpered a little and slid my foot into the shoe, but I was surprised as I made my way across the floor how . . . simple it was for me to walk in these. Heels never worked with me before, but something about these just worked with the boot, and I felt _incredible_.

Carefully, I took my first step downstairs. I felt exposed, felt scared. Stiletto? Really? Maybe I made it across the flat surface, but these were _stairs_.

Bad idea!

I was surprised when I began descending the stairs to see everyone waiting at the bottom, all dressed up like I was. There were presents, a cake, and lots of smiles—as well as fresh new faces.

Edward was the first person I noticed, dressed in a maroon button-up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows—the usual way he wore it, top buttons unbuttoned too—with a pair of black pants and matching black converse on. Beside him was Emmett, sporting an entirely black fancy attire and a grin on his lips.

Jasper was a little more formal than those two, because he had a button-up rolled up the same way Edward's was with a lavender tuxedo vest on. He matched Alice, though, who was wearing an elegant yet simple lavender halter dress that was tight up top and then loose and flowing at the almost knee-length skirt. To go with this, she had a pair of strappy silver stilettos.

Rose, to no surprise, was dressed in red—that bright, in your face kinda red that she wore on her lips sometimes, only to accent her gorgeousness. She really didn't need it, but she wore it. It was actually more like my dress, minus the sparkles, and it was strapless with an empire cut. It was definitely something I would wear too, but hers was a smidge longer than mine, and her heels might've been a smidge taller than mine, too.

Great. Now I felt even more exposed.

Esme was in a simple printed spaghetti strap dress that wasn't tight anywhere but still looked absolutely beautiful on her. She had on gladiator style flats that accented her simple, yet beautiful look perfectly. I would never wear the dress, but she pulled it off wonderfully. Carlisle accented her look with a white button-up—also with the rolled up sleeves—and a black vest to go over it. Black was one of the colors of her dress, so they looked nice.

Charlie, Embry, and Seth were here too, and they were all dressed in black pants, black shoes, and button-up shirts with the sleeves rolled up, too. In case you haven't caught on, they all agree that it looks better that way—in the casual sense anyways.

Embry had on a deep sapphire shirt, Seth's was charcoal grey, and Charlie's was white. I was mostly in shock those three actually had stuff to get dressed up in, but it was amazing.

"Happy birthday," Edward whispered, suddenly standing right in front of me with his emerald eyes locked deep in mine. All I could see was love flowing in there, running deeper than words could even begin to explain.

It was such a powerful gaze that I couldn't stop myself from kissing him. It was brief, but he heard the message hidden inside such a quick, simple kiss.

_You, me, my room later_.

I say my room because nothing goes on in our room. Vampires right downstairs? Really? No. Not happening.

He smiled adoringly and took my arm in his, to aid in the dangerous descent. "You're beautiful, Mayze, even without the dress." I could see desire burning in his eyes as something different registered in his mind, something I'm sure Emmett would even notice. _But I'm sure you'd look even better without it._

"Happy birthday!" Alice squealed next, dancing up the stairs so that she could get her turn to hug me.

"Let her get off the stairs," Emmett complained in his usual Emmet-like way. "We all want our turn to make her blush."

"Oh crap," I muttered, and almost like he could control the blood flow to my cheeks, I felt them burning. "You really didn't have to do this."

Alice giggled. "This is _nothing_. Just wait until graduation."

My eyebrows furrowed. "What happens at graduation?"

"School graduation party," Rose laughed, and Emmett grinned madly up at me as I began looking a little nervous. "Happy birthday, Mayze."

I smiled brightly, loving her friendly mood a lot, enough that I was able to stop blushing and finish getting down the stairs so I could begin the hugs—starting with Emmett. "Thanks, Rose."

Jasper laughed and began heading for the door. "Happy birthday. Part two of your surprise just arrived."

While he greeted whoever was at the door, I hugged everyone else, including Rose. It was a little surprising, but she hugged me like she would've hugged Alice, even.

By the time I finished and pulled away, Laurent was in my sight, and I flipped out. It was a sort of spur of the moment thing, and I ran to go hug him, but . . . remember my problem?

Yeah . . . let's just say it ended with me nearly hitting the ground. Of course, Edward grabbed me before I could, but it was still funny.

I was laughing as I pulled him into a hug. "You were right. I'm okay admitting that one. Thanks, for everything. I'm so psyched right now! Ah, man. Now, everyone else that I don't know . . . hi! I'm Mayze. Forgive me. I'm a little . . . or maybe a lot . . . I don't know, but either way, I'm crazy, so . . . yeah. Hi."

A pale blonde haired girl, who was dressed in a sparkly blue dress with black stilettos, laughed. "Well, from what I hear, you bring life into this family."

"She does," Rose admitted, sighing dismally. "Hey, Kate. Tanya. Carmen—everyone, hi."

A beautiful dark haired vampire with beautiful caramel colored skin and dark mystifying eyes smiled warmly at her. "Hello, Rosalie, and hello, Mayze. I hear you will be a part of the family, officially, soon, so congratulations are clearly in order."

My eyes widened a little as another person came into view, a certain strawberry blonde haired vampire that had haunted my nightmares and my visions in the meadow. It was unstoppable, the way my body stiffened and my throat grew dry.

Oh boy.

I felt Edward step behind me, knowing good and well what was going on in my head. He saw the rigid movement, the nerves, the _fear_.

Here she was, Tanya.

"You know, no one gives her beauty enough credit," she spoke for the first time, and if her words hadn't been so surprising, the beautiful sound of them, which came out more like a song than a sentence, would've stung. "Wow. She hasn't even been changed yet."

Rose snorted a little, folding her arms over her chest. "Tell me about it. Try living with it."

I was at a loss for words, looking between the two, flabbergasted. Rose, to me, was more beautiful than Tanya, but she was certainly a close second. The most gorgeous creatures I know—females anyways, because Edward kicks butt there—are saying that _I'm _beautiful?

Edward laughed softly behind me, taking me out of my surprise. "Sad part about it? She doesn't even realize it. I think that's part of what makes her so beautiful."

"Well, gee, thanks," Rose muttered, but when she grinned over at him, everyone could tell she was joking.

Or that's what she tried to pretend anyways. I could tell those words struck deeper than she was letting on, and I'm sure Jasper and Edward were aware too. For the sake of keeping the mood up, they moved on with smiles.

"Okay, Mayzie, this is Tanya, Kate, Irina, Carmen, and Eleazar," Edward informed me, giving us a proper introduction when I got over my surprise and moved on. "They're our family that lives out in Alaska. As you can see from their normal colored skin and eyes, they're like us."

"That's good to know," Charlie laughed, and everyone laughed in agreement. There was a slight tension because they could sense—and smell apparently—the two standing behind my dad.

"Of course," Edward sighed. "Oh wow. Alright, well, this is Mayze's dad, Charlie. Long story about him finding out. Um, then there's Embry and Seth. They're not exactly our enemies. They're shapeshifters who just so happen to be able to transform into a wolf, not quite werewolves."

"That explains a lot," Embry said slowly, eyes tightening a little. "So much."

Edward grinned over at him. "Exactly. Now, anyone in the mood to sing happy birthday like a bunch of drunks as loud as we possibly can before present time?"

"You do and I'm leaving," I promised, and he just laughed again before pulling me up against him.

Kate was smiling eagerly at me. "I like you. It was always so depressing to come by and see them because Edward was so gloomy all the time. Then, when I heard he left you, I almost hunted him down and forced him back myself, but Carmen wouldn't let me."

"He needed to do things on his own terms," Carmen reminded her gently, and I smiled at them.

"Well, that's what everyone tells me," I said honestly. "He used to—" I cut myself off when something else in Edward's statement earlier registered in my mind. "Wait a minute. Back up, like, twelve seconds ago . . . or longer? I don't know. I'm sorry, Kate. Cut off . . . okay. Scatter brained, bad. I really am. Anyways, you—"

"Don't start," Edward interrupted, smirking triumphantly down at me. "In case you don't remember, which I very vividly do, you promised."

"I get this odd feeling that you crossed the 'overboard' line, the way you're looking at me right now," I disagreed. "That was part of the deal."

He grimaced. "Well, see, that's where things get tricky. Your version of 'overboard' and mine are probably polar opposites—kind of like yours and Alice's ideas on fashion!"

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, loving the way everyone else began catching up and getting to know one another while we discussed this. Emmett and Jasper, on the other hand, were laughing maniacally at him, saying things like, "Whipped," and things of that nature.

They had no idea.

"We're gonna state this more plainly," I informed him. "_My _version of overboard, so . . . ."

He frowned. "That's not fair. Your version of overboard is, like, a toothpick."

I scowled. "Not if it's a blue toothpick."

He rolled his eyes. "Mayze, you're going to accept everything you get tonight because you know it's only because we all love you and want to give you things in order to try and make you happier than you already are." He wrapped his arms around my waist and gave me my favorite smile of his. "Please, Mayzie? Please just give me this. You win everything else—_everything_. I already told you that it's really no big deal, so can you just accept this, for me?"

I took another deep breath and stiffly nodded. "Okay, but if there's a car involved, so help me—"

"There's not," he promised. "Just things you can actually open in here." He smiled lovingly. "You're really going to appreciate one . . . or all of them, but you'll only admit one."

"Let's go ahead and start the torture," Rose teasingly suggested, and everyone laughed. "I'll go first."

. . . bad idea. _Really _bad idea. When I say starting with Rose's present, or even opening Rose's present with company, was a really bad idea, that's the understatement of the year.

_Especially _Charlie! Dear goodness.

It was a box, clearly clothes. Before I could even get all the paper off, Edward was shaking his head quickly while Rose smirked at me. I was confused, but when I opened the box . . . yeah. Wasn't confused anymore.

Emmett was laughing so hard that if he was human, he probably would've peed himself. Jasper was grinning while Embry and Seth laughed, too. Everyone else looked a little confused, except Alice and Charlie.

Alice rolled her eyes but giggled while Charlie was just as scared and red faced as I was.

I swallowed nervously and looked up at her. "I know I'm gonna appreciate this one day, so, uh, t-thanks?"

She grinned. "Your welcome. It's nothing yet."

My eyes widened in horror, and before anyone saw it, I took the box and ran all the way upstairs with it. When I somehow managed to safely make my way up there, I slid out of my shoe and boot and came back down the safe way.

It kinda hurt, but I was really getting sick of it.

Edward was scowling at me as I sat back beside him. "Mayze, you really shouldn't do that."

"It was, like, March!" I defended. "Come on, Edward, it's better."

Embry snorted. "Liar."

"Traitor!" I exclaimed, eyes tight. "Anyways, I'll be fine. Let's just continue, although I'm a little scared."

Rose smirked at me. "I'm the only mean one, Mayze. Remember?"

I grinned sheepishly back at her and awaited the next present handed to me. If they went this far out on my _birthday_, how bad was my Christmas gonna be?

Oh boy.

The next present I had the joy of opening was none other than Emmett's. Well, I was going to, but Edward literally wouldn't let me. I didn't even get to start tearing the paper before he took it from my hands and ran it upstairs.

I was gawking at Emmett. "I'm really scared to look at that later—_very _scared."

Charlie was pouting. "Just more reminders. Awesome."

With a loving smile, I made my way over beside him and hugged him tightly. "It's okay, Dad. On a positive note, even after I have to become a vampire and such, you'll still get to see me now."

"This is true," he agreed. "Okay, so, next?"

Edward got back downstairs with a scowl as he sat next to Alice, which is where he had been sitting earlier by me too. "Now that _those _are out of the way . . . ."

Tanya trilled a beautiful laugh of her own. "Edward, you knew this was bound to happen. You just went so long without someone."

He grimaced. "Her dad's here, guys."

Rose grinned. "Which makes it that much better. Although I am sorry you have to go through this too, Charlie. It just torments the two more this way."

"It's okay," he said honestly. "Let's move on, though."

Edward handed me the next present with a loving smile. "This one's safe."

I grinned up at him and looked at the tag. "Oh no, Alice? Please?"

"It's not bad," she promised. "Don't worry. I'm saving my mean stuff for your bachelorette party, where Charlie won't be here."

I whimpered a little and nodded. "Okay. Here it goes." I began tearing away the paper and frowned when I opened the box. "Alice, you lied to me."

"No I didn't," she insisted. "That's a bathing suit. It's more public appropriate than the next ones. This is for . . . something, but it's not for your honeymoon. Promise." She frowned. "Then again, do I really have to get a—?"

"Okay," Edward interrupted quickly. "Let me get the present that explains that one and stop Alice right there."

Alice smiled madly up at him. "You know it's true."

He was stiff. "You guys aren't helping anything."

"You know you want it," Rose reminded him.

Edward's eyes tightened, but he handed me the next one anyways. Instead of sitting back by Alice, he just sorta plopped down on the floor and sighed. "That's the problem. Now, new topic. Mayze? You're actually going to like this one."

I opened my mouth to say, "I liked the others in a different setting," but just the thought of saying that made my cheeks burn, so I decided to keep that to myself. "Okay." And when I opened the small box, I was surprised to see two first-class airplane tickets to Jacksonville. I gasped and looked up at Esme and Carlisle, who were smiling warmly at me in their usual friendly, incredible way.

I almost jumped them as I went to hug them, but I barely composed myself as I hugged them together, saying, "Thank you," over and over again. Charlie must've known because he was smiling at this reaction.

"You're most welcome, dear," Esme said lightly. "I figured that you would want to go see your mother and tell her the wonderful news in person."

My eyes widened in horror as this thought registered for the first time. "Oh no. This . . . hmm . . . maybe I should tell her tonight?"

Edward sighed. "Yeah . . . I'm a little worried about that one . . . in different ways than I was with Charlie."

"Good luck," Charlie chortled, shaking his head. "If there's one thing you can be certain about with Renée, that's her deep hatred for teenage marriages. Of course, she doesn't know the whole story, but she's not gonna be too happy, kid."

"I know," I groaned. "It doesn't matter, though. This is the best way."

Edward frowned at me. "More than that . . . you _do _wanna marry me, right?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "You know, you ask some of the strangest questions. Of course I do. I was just merely pointing out that on top of wanting to marry you, it _is _the best way."

"Agreed," Emmett nodded, frowning impatiently at us. "Now, more presents!"


	28. 27: Battling Through

**hmm. reviews? yes? :D reviews=faster updates. :D eh? eh?**

**ha. okay. seriously. R&R, please. you've been doing awesome so far, but i'm SERIOUSLY getting lots of alerts telling me people have favoriteted (Sp?) that i've never even heard of...but thanks for favoriting it. :D**

**anyways...review for more. :D this chapter is very important, fun, cute, and then, it's just funny. it gets better later on in the series, though, when she lets Edward loose...**

**you'll see.**

**oh. this song? yes. it's off Demi Lovato's new album. i wasn't a huge fan of hers before. i mean, i kinda liked a couple of her songs, i guess, but i wasn't a huge fan. i'm a pretty huge fan of a big portion of her songs that i'm hearing now, a lot of which are new. like this chapter's song, for example? :)**

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><p><strong>31. Give Your Heart a Break: Demi Lovato<strong>

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><p>It wasn't time to get out for Christmas yet, but, after the party, I sorta crashed at my other house. Charlie did too, and I knew Bella was <em>not <em>happy when she woke up the next morning. It just sorta happened, though.

At any rate, it didn't matter. If Edward and I were gonna have sex, we would've done it by now. Charlie probably would've let us too, but we weren't. We were remaining abstinent, not that Emmett was helping this decision _at all_.

It was, once again, nice waking up to Edward. This time, I woke up in a different setting, but he was still there.

He always would be. I no longer doubted that.

It was another early morning awakening, and we were alone. Charlie had left right before I woke up, and the rest of his family members were off at their separate houses.

I couldn't wait until we had to go out and buy a house of our own. That's gonna be incredible.

He looked a little upset, uneasy even. I knew it was only a slight thing, because behind the thin layer of pain was a thick and permanent loving and blissful emerald orb.

It was enough pain, though, that I couldn't be sure it was just him getting upset at himself for leaving, so I asked, "What is it, baby?"

He hesitated, mostly because he _loved _it when I called him that.

"Can you tell me something?" he murmured. "I-I have to know, Mayzie. This whole mess I created . . . it's not something I can just get over. I have to know what it was like for _you_ so I can get over _my _mistakes and start working on fixing someone else's—permanently."

I was confused what he meant, but I focused in on the first part. "What do you want me to tell you?"

"How can you still love me?" he asked softly. "I know I've asked this a million times, but I just can't grasp it."

"It's those million and seventy-four reasons to not love you that make the one reason you started loving them to begin with all that more important. The first reason shines so brightly that you can't see anything but that reason and the other reasons decorating it like a beautiful cake. Now, whether this is a good or bad thing is up to you, my love. I just know that I can't ever stop loving you, even if you truly stopped loving me."

"Another question," he continued on. "What was it like getting through the day?"

"I was hoping for a single moment where it wouldn't feel like the universe was about to crush me and my heart wasn't about to explode," I answered honestly because there was no point in hiding it. "I wanted to see you, have you in the same room as me. I would've kissed you and told you that I loved you. Then, I would've asked you to never go."

His eyes fell to the ground. "What was it like waking up the first morning after I was gone, after he . . . ?" He began growling because he simply couldn't think about it without getting _pissed _beyond belief.

I could tell his question, though, so I decided to try and distracted him. "It was the happiest day of my life—the day you told me you love me, that is. It was a crazy, wild day, but it was the best. The saddest day of my life was the day I woke up and realized it wasn't just a dream. You were as real as everything, and I was really raped. Nothing was fake, and you really weren't there to help me get through it anymore."

He looked like he might cry if he could. "Mayze, I'm so s—"

"Edward, stop it," I said firmly. "This talk is for the purpose of helping you get over this only. I don't wanna hear anything else, though. Stop beating yourself up. Like I said, it's the past, so please just move on."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Tell me something you want."

The way he said that . . . it was obvious what he was saying. He wasn't trying to buy my affections because he already had them.

He was changing the subject to something he wanted to talk about, something that might begin helping him feel the slightest bit better about everything. It would help him stop thinking painful thoughts, and he would be able to forgive himself.

It wasn't something I was quite ready to answer yet, so I hesitated and just picked something—something he needed to know.

"All I want is someone who will stay with me, no matter how hard it is to be there."

In just the blink of a sleepy eye, I was in Edward's arm, and his face was buried in my neck, holding me as tenderly as he could while squeezing me.

I think one of my ribs cracked, but I don't know.

Anyways, we stood like this for a bit while he held me. It was his way of saying, "I am never leaving you again," without using words.

"Mayze—"

"You asked, and I told you," I interrupted quickly. "I told you something that I want, yes, but it's also something I already have. Edward, you don't have to keep telling me you're never leaving me again, although I do love hearing it. I know that, though, and I trust you. I trust myself to know this. I already have what I want, though."

His shoulders fell a little, and very grimly, he sighed. "Mayze, I wish you would say something horrible. Tell me how bad I am and push me away. I wish you would get _mad_."

I didn't like this talk, and arguing it wouldn't help anything. So, instead, I put on a sultry smile he always seemed to love and stepped closer to him, allowing the curves of my body to line up perfectly with the contours of his.

"You've been very, very bad," I practically purred, and I slowly let my hand rub down his chest to the lining of his pants. I could hear him shuddering and feel the way his muscles tightened yearningly. A low breath slipped through his parted lips, and I felt myself getting excited, too. She was standing on the line between seeing how much more she could take and giving up—and I was she. Unfortunately for Edward, almost as quickly as my hand began getting somewhere that made him horny, it was gone, and I was smirking proudly up at him. "I'll save my anger for another night."

He was gawking at me. "Mayze!"

"Hey, you told me to tell you how bad you are and push you away," I reminded him, holding my hands up in defense. "I just followed orders."

Instantly, his eyes were narrowed, and he was pulling me up in his arms the very way I always used to pretend to hate. Now, though, I couldn't even pretend to anymore, and instead, I clung to him, almost desperately.

He was surprised, but he didn't set me down. The only adjustment he made was the way he moved me around in his arms only so that he could hug me and kiss the side of my face.

"You're not the same girl I stupidly left behind in June," he murmured lowly. "Different, but it's also to be expected—you finished growing up, after all. Most people don't do that until they're, well, older than you, but . . . you really didn't have a choice."

"That's why I'm not mad," I insisted. "Look, Edward, look at it this way—this whole mess. You left me. I was raped. If you hadn't left me, I wouldn't have finished growing up like I needed to do alone. You said so yourself. I needed incentive to do so, and if you were here, I wouldn't have had it."

He cringed. "If I were here . . . Blade wouldn't have touched you."

"You don't know that," I murmured. "You're not here all the time, ya know. Look, I'm starving." I pulled myself tighter against him, and it was enough to distract him. "Can you take me downstairs?"

It was the perfect distraction, because he _loved _this. He used to try and do it all the time when I was crippled, and yes, I was still crippled, but I never let him before now. Now, I wanted him to—requested it even.

He kissed my temple softly and nodded. "Of course, my love. What do you want to eat? We have . . . well, everything I knew you might possibly want at some point. I think there are more doughnuts."

I gasped quickly, and Edward began running full speed to the kitchen. When he did this, I lost all grasp of time, so I'll just say we were there very fast, and when we got there, he sat me gently at the bar set up in here before running over to the fridge, getting there almost instantaneously.

I blinked quickly. "Babe, that's one thing I'm _not _gonna miss."

He only briefly looked back so he could shoot me a questioning glance before turning back and looking through the multitude of food items in there. "What's that?"

"Not being able to see you move," I admitted sheepishly, grinning a little. "It's a strain on the eyes."

He looked back to me now, one eyebrow still cocked. "Would you like me to move at a normal speed?"

When he turned back to the fridge, he missed me rolling my eyes a little. I decided not to say anything, not yet, and with a sigh, I leaned back against my chair. "No, no. I'm starting to get used to it. It's kinda cool. I was just saying I won't miss it."

"Bacon, doughnuts, and Mountain Dew?" he guessed, and I gaped over at him.

With wide eyes and an eager smiled, I ran over to kiss his cheek quickly. "I think I just might marry you one day."

"I would hope so," he agreed, and the two of us began laughing as he turned the eye on and began the best morning full of cooking, eating, drinking, and, well, a mini food fight.

How do you start a food fight with doughnuts and bacon? Well, simple. It didn't involve doughnuts and bacon. It was flour, eggs, and the doughnut glaze.

Sticky, messy, and so much fun.

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><p>"Mayze, why do you never talk to me anymore?" Tyler demanded.<p>

_Not this again_, I groaned, and beside me, I saw Edward's eyes tighten. So, I decided it was best for everyone's good to try and get Tyler off my case once and for all. "If I wanted to listen to an asshole, I'd fart."

They seemed surprised at the fact that I was a girl who said "fart," but it wasn't enough to turn him away. If anything, he seemed more interested, and it even caught Chase's attention.

I groaned softly and sank down a little in my seat. Edward, upon my request his first day back, bit it back, and I was starting to regret it.

If it gets bad again . . . I'll let the poor boy loose.

"Why don't you talk to me?" Chase tried.

"Because people like you are the reason we have middle fingers," I said simply. "I have no desire whatsoever to talk to you."

"Guys, she's stupid and ugly," Ashley interjected, once again butting into a conversation she didn't belong in. "Why do you even bother?"

I was sick of her, so I simply rolled my eyes. "Oh, hey, by the way, I found your fake nose. It was in my business again."

She gasped loudly and grabbed her nose. "The doctor said it didn't look fake at all!"

"Mmhmm," I said lightly, shrugging. "My point exactly."

Her eyes narrowed to the point they were almost closed, and she was making a strange snarl-like sound. "Elizabeth Swan, I hate you so very much."

"Hate me?" I snorted, but instead of letting her think I cared, I smirked over at her. "Wait here while I'm looking for a fuck to give."

Instead of coming up with a witty comeback—because she couldn't!—Ashley rolled her eyes at me and turned to the laughing Chase and Tyler. "So, I'm unavailable this weekend because I'm going to my college boyfriend's house for a romantic weekend." She looked over at Edward. "It's not too serious, though, Edward."

Chase and Tyler grew pale at the mention of his name because they realized in that instant that Edward had heard every word, and they took one look at him and knew he was anything but happy. They seemed to worry about their thoughts, too—maybe even subconsciously.

They all shifted away from him—the males anyways—whereas Ashley flirting shifted towards him, purposely leaning her chest down to try and show him what she didn't have.

I pulled her back away from him by her fake extensions, since she was right in front of me. "Too bad his is."

He looked over at me with a smug little smirk, and my eyes playfully narrowed. "Definitely not fair."

"It definitely is," I disagreed. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm about to say screw it."

His nose scrunched a little as he grinned over at me. "A little."


	29. 28: Second Family

**I'm doing this at school, so i must be brief.**

**R&R for more. thank you so much everyone who has been reviewing and favoriting and just reading this story. :) Together is coming to an end, and next starts Torn. **

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><p><strong>32. Miracle: Paramore<strong>

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><p>Friday finally passed and rolled into Saturday, and Saturday seemed to go by <em>super <em>slow. Each minute dragged by like hours, and each hour dragged by like decades. The only thing that passed the time was going and getting an eight passenger vehicle in order to fit everyone.

Yeah . . . the Jeep was the biggest one they had after selling the Volvo, so Edward and I went and picked up the custom built Acadia they had made a few weeks ago. It had the Denali AWD trim with ebony colored interior and carbon black metallic colored exterior.

It was awesome, and Edward even let me drive it back home. Mostly, I think it was because he wanted to try and test my driving skills, but I kinda think he wanted to test my ability to stick to my decision to wait until the honeymoon.

Trust me—he made it hard.

Four-thirty came, and Edward and I loaded up into the Acadia. Emmett was gonna come, but Rose wanted to, erm, talk to him, so they left. Alice decided to just wait and meet them when they got here.

I was _literally _bouncing along in the car while Edward laughed at how funny I was. When we got there, we had to wait forty-three whole minutes before my old friends were in my sights.

"Brynkley Allison, you didn't!" I exclaimed across the freaking airport, and my newly purple haired best friend grinned madly as she finished gathering her bags and started her mad dash over to me. Beside her, her twin sister Karma, I was surprised to find her own hair dyed a soft pink with sky blue streaks in her bangs. Oliver, thankfully, still had his choppy black hair, and Sapphire had her naturally dark brown hair streaked with blonde here and there and the entire front section of her hair completely dyed bright red.

Why did they all get awesome hair without me?

Just so you know, I wasn't the only one who was freaking out when they got over to me. Oliver would've freaked out more than he was, but he had all the luggage, so Brynk and Karma were left to freak out the most. Sapphire was more composed than that, so she stayed behind with Oliver while those two literally tackled me to the ground.

I was laughing as we stood back up and began hugging all over again. "I can't even believe this right now!"

"We honestly never thought we'd see you again!" Brynk exclaimed. "Mayze, this is incredible." She looked away from me and up at Edward with that awestruck, holy shit kinda look. "And this must be Edward. I'm Brynk. That's Karma, Sapphire, and, well, you've met Oliver . . . over the phone anyways."

Edward grinned at her and nodded. "I have, sorta. I mean . . . anyways, yep. I'm Edward. It's good to meet all of you. You probably won't be surprised to hear that Mayze has talked about you guys a lot. Uh, I can get that stuff."

While Oliver was trying to assure him that he had it, I snuck around behind him and took a few of the bags. When I did, I began running madly through the airport, laughing as they all began chasing me. I made it to the Acadia before any of them caught me, although Edward could've most definitely stopped me in an instant.

He loaded all the bags and kissed me softly. "Happy?"

"Thrilled," I disagreed before kissing him again, smiling brilliantly up at him. "Thank you. I really do feel kinda bad."

He shrugged. "Seeing you this happy is worth it, Mayze. Besides, if you really feel that bad, I can tell you a time and place you can make it up to me."

I smiled seductively back up at him before placing yet another kiss on his lips and walking around so he could open my door. "No need. I think I can figure it out. I'll get right on that."

He just grinned and walked around to open my door for me. "After you, my love."

"Thank you very much," I said blissfully, and from the back, I heard everyone bust out laughing. While Edward was shutting the trunk and walking around, I turned and playfully glared. "What are you laughing at?"

"What happened to the 'I'm never gonna have a spineless guy who opens my door for me and pays for everything,' you used to say?" Oliver teased, and I scowled.

"Well, you see, it's kind of a funny story," I began casually, trying to think of a good explanation.

Edward was grinning as he climbed in and started the car. "I happened. Suck it."

"I'm not sucking anything, and that is a lifetime guarantee," I said firmly.

His eyebrows rose. "Oh?"

Brynk snorted. "Same goes for me. I mean, really? No offense, guys, but you piss outta that."

"Not to mention the fact that it's a major insult," I continued on. "Guys say, 'Suck my dick,' all the time, and even though they may not realize it, they lose respect for the girl subconsciously. They get it in their heads that she'll do what they want, and they're in control. Somewhere in there."

Brynk grimaced. "And it's just gross. The whole 'spit or swallow' thing? From what I hear, spitting is _definitely _the best option."

"Depends on what you eat," Oliver disagreed.

My eyebrows rose. "Did you just . . . ? How in the hell would you know?"

He grinned. "Well . . . we talked about it in health. Unlike some of us, I actually paid attention in class."

I scowled back at him but turned back to the front, only to see Edward laughing at me. "I paid attention . . . when I wasn't thinking about . . . stuff."

Oliver snorted. "Which would be, hmm, never?"

"Touché." I decided to change the conversation, and right as I got situated facing forward, I turned in my seat completely to face them. "So, what have y'all been up to lately? Any new or old relationships for y'all?"

Brynk laughed. "Well, new relationships? No, babe, that's just you. Past relationships? All of us."

My eyes widened in horror as they snapped instantly over to her sister. "Are you guys okay? Karma, I thought you and Sean were all but engaged." I scowled. "I really _do_ miss a lot moving across the country."

Karma nodded but smiled at my quick response to console her. "You were right from the beginning, Mayze. He was nothing but trouble. I should've listened."

I completely moved myself over to sit on the middle console, eye twitching a little. "Okay. What'd he do? You _never _admit I'm right."

"Exactly what he tried to do to you, and exactly what you said he would," she said simply. "I should've listened to you."

I turned back to Edward, who was actually on the phone with someone. "Can we drive to Phoenix? I have an asshole to kill."

"Mayze, don't," she pleaded, but I could see that she liked how eager I was to kill him through the sparkle in her beautiful dark grayish blue eyes. "I'm over it, and it's not like he raped me. Oliver and Brynk already kicked his ass. No need to make the drive."

My teeth clenched at that five letter word, and I could just _feel _Edward tense up beside me. "Did he _try _to?"

"No," she promised. "You're might defensive all of the sudden. Is there something _we _should know, Mayze?"

"No," I said decisively, and so they wouldn't see the fear in my eyes, I turned back towards the front and let out a content sigh—my attempt to flush all bad thoughts away. "Are we going to see Charlie first?"

"That was the plan," he agreed. "Embry, Seth, and Jake are there, too, so Bella has a lot of food ready. I'm sure these guys are starved."

I glared bitterly over at him and stubbornly folded my arms over my large chest. "This better not be another party."

He was grinning madly. "Of course it is. After all, you _do _have two families."

"I have one argumentative family," I disagreed. "You'll see one day."

"One day, you'll see," he argued. "Now, you have another party with your sister and friends. Drama free, promise."

"And I was so looking forward to seeing you punch Jake," I playfully whined before turning back again to beam at the four behind me. "You get to see Bella, and meet lots of new people. I think you'll like them. Jake? Just ignore the bitter jabs at Edward. I think he'll be good today, though."

Edward pulled into the driveway right about then with furrowed eyebrows. "I guess everyone decided to show."

It surprised me when the front door slung open and Sam Uley came barging out. "We need to talk, _Edward_."

I could hear how deeply it burned him to call him by his name, and it would've amused me if the rest of his statement wasn't so urgent, so . . . nervous.

As those two stepped behind the Acadia, I decided to let it go for now and bounched my way over to the four climbing out still. When they were all out, I jumped on Oliver's back and squeezed him tightly.

"I didn't get to hug you properly before, so here it is!" I squealed in his ear. "Now, let's go!"

Brynk laughed as Oliver _literally _threw me off of his back into the snow. They all laughed, but Brynk was nice enough to give the crippled a hand up and throw me on her back instead.

She marches a huge drum, so . . . she's got this.

"Well, lookie here," Quil teased as I slid off her back and pushed my way inside my house. "If it isn't Miss Soon-to-be-Cullen!"

The name surprised me, since it _was _the first time anyone had used it, and it made my already eager smile grow infinitely bigger. Honestly, I wasn't aware smiling as big as I was at the moment . . . I didn't know it was possible.

I was, though, and I probably looked like an idiot. I, however, didn't give a flying crap.

Jared looked anything but pleased, not that I really gave a shit what he thought. "Didn't think you were stupid enough to fall for it twice."

"Didn't think you were stupid enough to pretend you care," I shot back. "Guys? This is Asshole. Asshole, this is Oliver, Brynk, Karma, and Sapphire."

Oliver's eyebrows rose. "Didn't hear about you . . . ."

"No need to," I dismissed. Then, I felt a little guilty, even though he really did deserve it, so I sighed. "Okay, fine. That's Jared. Now, there's my homedog, Seth. Seth! Come here!"

And over Seth came . . . to our position.

Oh geez.

I smiled happily as he pulled me into a big wolf hug. (I call them wolf hugs 'cause they're more intense than the human "bear hug" is.) "Seth, meet Oliver, Brynk, Karma, and Sapphire."

Seth's grin was as big as mine had been before, but his was more . . . mischievous, I would say, as he waved at the new people. "Hey, guys. I'm Seth. I'm not _the _youngest werewolf of the bunch, but I'm not the oldest either."

That took me off guard, although everyone else surrounding us—us being me, Oliver, Brynk, Sapphire, and Karma—seemed to understand why he just blurted out one of the things I was trying so hard to hide.

If I hadn't just frozen in shock with that twitchy eye I sometimes get, they might've just dismissed what he said as something he said to try and mess with them or something. But no. I freaked out, big time.

"Don't," Seth said firmly as my mouth began to open in protest. "They were gonna find out soon anyways. Why? Well, Oliver, I'd like you to meet my sister, Leah. Okay, now, you two kids have fun. Sapphire? Meet Brady. Please feel free to smack him if he gets on your nerves, okay?"

I knew what happened by the way Leah and Brady were looking at the two, and I began my happy dance while jumping around in circles.

Those two forever now too?

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><p>The party got a little more . . . well . . . party-like as Sam and Edward joined back, learned about what had happened, and began having fun with us. Sam, I think, was happiest about Leah imprinting because it meant she would finally be as happy as he was. It meant he could finally move on and not feel so guilty.<p>

It's the only reason I even had the slightest bit of respect for Sam. He at least felt bad about what he did to her.

Jared? Nah. He tried to hide his imprinting and just see how long he could avoid telling me. He wanted to _wait_ until I found out on my own.

Ugh. Anyways, things got a little hairy with Edward and all, so after we ate, the four of us—Edward, Brynk, Karma, and I, since Oliver and Sapphire were otherwise preoccupied just flirting away—went up to my room and began playing music while everyone else watched a movie. Some songs were dancing songs, others were songs to simply act goofy with and sing along to with a hairbrush.

Even Edward got into it, and it was absolutely amazing.

My favorite one was when _Right Where You Want Me to Be _by **A Day to Remember **came on because Edward sang it to me while my friends danced around unknowingly.

It was incredible, and I really didn't mind this party at all. There were no heels. There were no new people.

It was just the people I loved doing the things I loved to do all day long.


	30. 29: Sex and Apples

**sorry it's been so long. :\ indoor madness yesterday that also led to two broken toes and a seriously bruised foot. nothing to do with writing, i know, but i've been a wee bit busy. XD sorry to take so long, though.**

**here it is. :D ch. 29. btw, the last chapter of _Together _is 31 and then the epilogue. THERE WILL BE ANOTHER PART! Two more parts, actually. The next part gets suspenseful and intense, not to mention some serious romance that heats up as the wedding gets closer and closer.**

**i'll keep it clean, though. i'm sure you don't wanna know what really goes on when things get _that _heated. we all have imaginations if we wanna go there...**

**anyways, two Paramore songs as chapter songs in a row ftw! :D**

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><p><strong>33. Whoa: Paramore<strong>

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><p>Edward kissed the back of my head as I continued studying the current green card at the beginning of our Apples-to-Apples game. There were eight of us in total playing. Edward and Alice weren't, but they couldn't really say why, so they just said they'd prefer to watch.<p>

Jasper, Rose, Emmett, Oliver, Karma, Sapphire, Brynk, and I were gonna have fun playing, though.

The first word, which was Emmett's green card, was interesting. My hand consisted of a pool party, villains, Halloween costumes, my first date, and fighting robots. It was an interesting hand—best first hand I've ever gotten, to be honest.

So, I laid down a pool party because those can be interesting. Everyone else laid theirs down shortly after me, and Emmett hesitated to turn them over.

"Hmm," he murmured. "Anakin Skywalker? I never actually saw the ones where he's there, so I don't really know. I know he turns out to be Darth Vader, so that is kinda interesting. Brain freeze? Those are interesting to see someone else have." He grinned at me. "Funny as hell. Mario Brothers? Hell yeah! I freaking love Mario! Luigi's my favorite, though, because he's the not as recognized fella. Um . . . an ATV. Oh yes! That's awesome! They're so much fun. PG-13 movies . . . they are usually interesting. My favorite movie, which is _not _a porn movie for those of you wondering, is actually R, but . . . they are really good movies a lot of the time. Now . . . the kiddy pool?" He grimaced. "Nah. A pool party?"

He seemed to _know _it was either mine, Jasper's, or Rose's because none of the others playing fully grasped just how sex oriented that boy's brain was. He was instantly thinking of two people doing it real hard in a pool, particularly him and Rose.

"I'm gonna have to go with a pool party," he laughed, and all my friends jumped at how loud the boom and deep tone it brought the room really was.

I smirked and pulled the green card up. He was across from me, and Rose was beside him, so that meant it was her turn. I had to draw a red card really quick, which was _hugs_.

Her eyebrows rose as she flipped it over and laid it down. "Hard."

Emmett snickered before leaning over to whisper something in her ear. She acted like what he said was just any old thing, but I could see the desire burning in her eyes, and the way Edward made a face down at me, I realized I did _not _wanna know.

I knew my response, so I placed my _hugs _card down carefully. "I agree with this statement. You may not, but I do."

She was grinning. "I can imagine."

Edward kissed the side of my face with a sigh. The way he sighed was his secret way of saying, "Mayze? Something wants you."

What was that, you may ask? Well, it was that hard thing of his suddenly poking me in the side of my stomach.

I looked up at him with wide eyes. "What this time?"

"Everything," he muttered. "I mean _everything_."

Which translated into what? That would be fantasies, my friends.

I smiled happily and turned over to Brynk, who was the last to lay down a card. "Just wait 'til you guys meet Embry, too. He's . . . aw, man, he's awesome."

She laughed and nodded. "Okay, Mayze. We'll meet him. Let's finish this game first, though."

I stuck my tongue out at her and looked over at Emmett, who was smirking that devious smirk he got when he was noticing something significant in _my _sex life.

"Will you lay off my nonexistent sex life already?" I insisted.

He shrugged. "When you get one? Ha. No."

"It's not nonexistent," Alice disagreed softly, smiling at the bunch of us.

Karma laughed along with her. "I agree. Not nonexistent. It's just not very productive right now."

Everyone got a kick out of that, except Edward, who was really struggling to remain calm and _not _take me upstairs right now. Emmett could see it, and I could also see that he really did care, so he changed the subject.

"If I knew you guys better, I'd probably pick on the lot of you, too," Emmett laughed. "I have a feeling we'll get there one day."

"Probably," Saph agreed with a sigh.

I smirked. "I get this weird feeling that you guys are gonna be coming around more often now."

"I am," Oliver snorted, not really affected by the mention of his new found adoration. Sapphire got all blushy and bashful. He simply didn't care. "I'm thinking March, spring break?"

"That sounds good," Brynk agreed. "But this time, we've got it. Seriously!"

Emmett scowled. "Why can't we get this one?"

"I've got an idea!" Karma exclaimed, eyes wide. "Why don't _they _come to us?"

"There's way more of us," Rose reminded her. "I think it'd still be best for you guys to come here." She began turning over the cards, which stopped the conversation right where it stood. "Wow. Okay, um, yo-yos? Yes. Those are super hard. I hate those. Flossing your teeth is a pain, for real. That's a good one too. Pigtails? If I wasn't so pro at doing hair, they would be, but I am, so . . . not really hard for me. Hugs? Mayze," she looked up at me with a grin. "We all know you only enjoy hugging men, but come on! They're not _hard_. You just don't feel comfortable."

"Which makes them hard," I insisted, and she just laughed and continued on.

"Acrobats," she noted, pursing her lips. "That is some complicated stuff they do. Witches? Eh . . . don't understand. Field trips? I didn't go on many, so I don't really know. I'm gonna have to go with yo-yos."

Jasper grinned and leaned forward to grab the green card. "Blondie can't yo-yo. Go figure."

She gaped at him as _everyone _busted out laughing. He was really good at that, keeping silent until he had something witty to say. It was one of his best qualities. Rose, however, wasn't amused, and she was glaring playfully at her brother, who just smirked and _literally _made her anger go away.

I faintly heard her mumble, "Cheater," but my friends had no hope.

Oliver was next, so everyone put down cards to the word "bad." I had buried alive, which would be _very _bad and also Oliver's biggest fear. Emmett was grinning bigger than he had all night, so I was a little worried about what his might be.

"Oh geez," Edward moaned softly. "I think I need to go."

My eyebrows furrowed. "What on earth did he put that's making it worse? You usually don't like those thoughts."

He grimaced as he moved me around a little, mostly so his boner wasn't visible. "You'll see."

Wow. I knew Edward would struggle more than me, but I felt bad. I mean, I felt really bad. He was going crazy, and I was just kinda sitting here playing Apples-to-Apples.

I would find a way to make it easier on him _somehow_.

"A parking ticket," Oliver began, nodding in agreement as he continued. "Kittens? Nah. They're very useful. Love running 'em over."

"You're awful!" Karma exclaimed. "Kittens are adorable!"

I scoffed. "Then they grow up."

"This is _very _true," Saph muttered before looking over at Auggie, who was watching our game from the couch. "Come here, Auggie."

And on command, she came bouncing over and licking her all over.

"Aug," I scolded, but I was laughing, so she just bounced around to lick on me. "No, sweetie. Go see Saph. I just meant out of her face!"

She just began prancing around our circle back to Sapphire, like she knew what I was saying to her. Either way, Oliver was laughing as he continued.

"Crazy dog," he said quietly, shaking his head. "Let's see . . . grown-ups. Buried alive? Oh yeah. Biggest fear right there. Text messages? Um . . . can't I've sent any bad ones, per say, but hey. If that's the way you roll . . . bullies are very bad. Finally . . . ." he trailed off as his eyes got wide and bright, grinning just as big as Emmett had been. "Yes. This wins hands down!"

Emmett busted out laughing as he swooped down and picked up the card. "I knew it!"

"What is it?" I demanded, eyebrows furrowing.

Oliver was laughing so hard he couldn't actually say, so instead, he threw it down and laid back. Everyone else seemed to find it before I could, but when I did, my face probably turned tomato red.

Karma rolled her eyes. "Boys are stupid."

Rose grinned a little. "It is pretty good, but they're drama kings.

Jasper was laid back laughing his head off too while Alice simply rolled her eyes and mumbled things about the crazy guys around her.

Brynk was laughing a little, but it was _nothing _like the guys. Sapphire smiled, but she wasn't freaking out. Edward, on the other hand, just griped me tighter and moaned as he laid his head on my shoulder.

Wanna know what it said?

A maze.

Ha.

"I think Edward could tell us that one better than anyone," Oliver commented, and I about jumped him. "Whoever put buried alive, that would've won had it not been for that!"

"Emmett, that's just . . . no!" I exclaimed. "I don't know that I'm gonna be bad at it. I've never even tried."

"Wrong kind of bad," Edward said lightly, sighing deeply. "I give up."

"Good for you, kid," Emmett said cheerfully, smirking. "I have a feeling, Mayze, that you're going to be a very bad girl."

"You're sick," Alice commented. "Poor Edward. How's he supposed to last until June? He's already fragile enough after missing her all that time he was in Alaska, and you're just making it harder."

"Literally," Edward sighed. "I'm fine, Alice. This might help, honestly."

Emmett grinned. "We're trying to fix the poor boy up. June is such a long way aways."

"Only seven months," Rose disagreed. "Let him try peacefully."

Brynk punched his arm lightly. "You can do it. I have faith in you . . . to not do it. Anyways, I don't care, either way. I still love you both, so either way works."

I just picked another red card from the pile with a scowl. "Let's continue and stop talking about whether I'm allowed to have sex or not."

Yeah . . . sex talk got worse . . . but the game got fun. Karma, who was sitting by Oliver, got the word important. Jasper put Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Why? I don't know. I put fighting robots, personally, but he put Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

That got some laughs from his family, who claimed that my friends would've had to been there that night when they questioned it.

Anyways, the word "hot" got awkward. Brynk and Karma put Sherlock Holmes and Iron Man, which are both played by Robert Downey Jr., and that's the one guy they both agree on. I put villains, but Emmett? Yeah. He put screaming.

Yes. That kind of screaming.

Another funny moment, the word "great" was used. It was my word. There was popcorn, pizza, cotton candy, gum in your hair, freeze tag, a valentine, and donating blood.

That was Rose's card, and that got a laugh from the Cullens and me all over again. Irony.

The word wild did just that—got wild. After school detention got taken way out of context by Oliver and Emmett, as well as taking pictures and dancing.

Really, guys? Really?

I wouldn't change or trade them for anything in the world, though.

I made the mistake of putting my first date for one of the choices . . . 'cause the word was loud, and Emmett began questioning _why _it was loud, so . . . yeah.

Strong made me happy because it had break dancers, Taylor Lautner, and Peyton Manning. I love Peyton Manning, and if he doesn't come back to play, I might cry.

Of course amazing got strange. Jasper actually put home base, since it was Emmett. I put Batman, and home base won because it's Emmett.

Rose got "dirty," and I put a werewolf. That was priceless, everyone's faces after she read the word. They tensed up and got all rosy whereas Rose just laughed and laughed.

The game continued throughout the night. It started getting dark, but we kept going. Normally you play to ten, but we just played until we all decided to call it a night.

"That's a good one," Edward murmured in my ear, but he wasn't really paying the game much attention.

Emmett scowled at him but didn't say anything. "C'mon, Mayzie-pop."

Auggie began whining at the door, and Edward was quick to stand up and let her out. Alice was absentmindedly flipping through a wedding magazine, but I already had my dress picked out. She wasn't happy with it because it wasn't floor length, but it was decided anyways.

"So, what exactly happened to your leg?" Brynk asked curiously, striking up some conversation outside of our game that was seemingly coming to a sad end.

"I ran away back to Phoenix because I was scared of love," I lied nonchalantly. "Edward, Esme, and Carlisle chased me down and made me realize that I can't run from my fears. Well, madness, my luck, stairs, and such. Not to mention room service carts with knives. That's how it first happened, but then Seth and Embry kinda took me cliff diving. It was awesome, but it's not okay now."

Emmett grinned. "You can make up for it—"

"Don't even start," I said firmly, eyes narrowing. "You've made enough comments. Now, as I was saying . . . ." I frowned. "Don't start. Okay, well, I've gotta pee, and I want Mountain Dew."

Karma smirked over at me. "Of course. Well, do you guys wanna call it a game? It's getting late, and I'm exhausted."

"Sure," Rose agreed cheerfully. "Em and I should be getting home soon anyways, and I'm sure Alice would like to leave, too. It was really great meeting you guys. We'll probably see you tomorrow."

Edward popped back into the circle with a loving smile. Since Sam had spoken to him, something seemed off about him, but he seemed happier now than he was before he let out Auggie—still worried, though.

"You go ahead and show them to their rooms," he said gently. "I'll clean this up."

There was more to this than he was telling, but I knew not to ask now, so I nodded and led everyone to their rooms. Oliver was staying in the guest room downstairs, so he got to his first. Brynk was gonna stay in my old room, the bright blue one upstairs, and Karma was taking Alice and Jasper's purple room. Sapphire, on the other hand, got the sapphire and silver colored guest room.

Ha, ha. Sapphire got the sapphire room.

Yes. That was one hundred and ten percent _on purpose_.

When they were all settled, I went into our room and got into my pajamas just in time for Edward to come upstairs, too. He had been down there a good ten minutes, talking softly enough for Oliver to overhear nothing. They covered it up with some loud football Emmett provided, too.

I'm starting to notice these things, in case you couldn't tell. They're a lot better at hiding their secret than I first realized.

Anyways, he closed the door behind him with a completely serious expression crossing his features.

"I'm guessing you want to know what's going on," he murmured quietly, eyes falling to the ground. "Well . . . the pack had a few out patrolling the woods last night. The Denalis had already passed, so they knew it . . . they smelled a familiar vampire scent. Jacob worried it was the female pursuing Bella, but they weren't quite that familiar with it. That meant it was another one of the original six who showed up that day. Laurent is in Alaska, and they're more familiar with him now. James and Dusk are dead . . . ."

I knew who that left, but it didn't add up. He wouldn't just pass through, and if he was actually here, Edward wouldn't be this calm. So, what was going on?

"Blade wouldn't just pass through," I said, putting my thoughts to words. "There's something more to this than just that."

He nodded in agreement. "Alice said he was checking up on you, seeing just how much you were still suffering."

My eyebrows rose. "When did this vision happen?"

"While we were at Charlie's," he explained, teeth tightening a little. "We were trying to communicate without alerting anyone during your game. I think it worked."

I nodded. "I had no idea, especially with the boner and all. Edward, don't worry. I'll be fine."

"I can't _not _worry, Mayze," he disagreed, eyes tightening. "Until Blade is dead and you're a vampire, I can't stop worrying about you. In case you _haven't _noticed, you have tendencies to fall into trouble."

"I didn't notice," I mumbled sarcastically. "Okay, listen. We'll stay on the lookout for Blade. In the meantime, let's be cheerful, okay? I love you."

"I love you, too," he whispered, eyes closing. "I'm scared to see him, Mayze . . . to get close enough to kill him."

"Why?" I asked slowly, eyebrows furrowing. "Emmett and Jasper can come for backup if you're worried he's too strong, but I don't think he's as strong as you."

"He is because of his human blood drinking factor," he dismissed, shaking his head. "I'm talking about something else . . . . Blade's ability is the ability to look at someone and figure out different ways to torture them, different ways to make them suffer. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out I'm going to be pretty messed up and tortured if he starts thinking about what he did to you, those vivid memories . . . ."

"Well, don't get upset about it now," I pleaded. "Edward, can you just kiss me and relax?"

For the first time in as long as I can remember, he actually listened to me . . . completely.


	31. 30: Newly Found Secrets

**hello all. sorry it's been so long since i've updated. :\ but, there are reasons. concerts that got sold out. T.T broken toes. lots of practice. no internet. but i'm sorry. i'll try to do better!**

**now, here ya go. :) ch. 30. please R&R and enjoy.**

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><p><strong>34. Burn: Three Days Grace<strong>

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><p>It wasn't unusual to go downstairs and not find Edward anywhere. He thought it was best, considering everyone here, if they all hunted often—at least the ones staying here. So, they were all far enough away to not get caught up hunting <em>us<em>. If I had to guess, they were probably following Blade's scent a bit, seeing where he headed and making sure he's nowhere near. Emmett and possibly Jasper were probably close enough to hear me talk.

This was the perfect time to sneak downstairs and start some human experiences that Edward wouldn't approve of me getting in at my age.

It only scared me a bit, due to my recent discussion with Edward, to see Brynk quietly following behind me.

I laughed a little. "Hey, Brynk. You okay?"

She nodded and began rubbing on her arm a little. "Yeah. Just restless. Can . . . can I ask you something?"

I led her downstairs and into the kitchen, where I began concocting a drink I wanted to try—Amp and moonshine. Emmett helped me out and bought me some alcohol, which was hard to hide from Edward. I just wanted to _try _it, though. This wasn't gonna be a permanent thing.

Some could argue that getting a human experience in would be shooting up cocaine, or sleeping with about twenty guys in the period of a week, but I want _normal _human experiences. This is something I would do at twenty-one anyways, so since I'm not gonna make it to twenty-one as a human, might as well try this now.

Brynk laughed as I offered her one of her own and took it. "Wow. Edward seems . . . protective. I didn't realize he would let you drink."

I shrugged. "He doesn't know yet. I'll tell him, but he would overreact. Anyways, what did you wanna ask?"

She shifted uncomfortably, her smile leaving her and getting replaced by a trouble expression. "Today . . . Oliver and Sapphire were imprinted on, I think they said, by werewolves."

I nodded. "Yeah, they were. Things have really been different here in Fork, Brynk. Edward calls them shapeshifters, actually, though. He says they're not werewolves, technically, 'cause they shift on will, not 'cause of the moon."

She gave me a half-hearted smile. "That's kinda scary, since tonight's a full moon. Does that mean actual werewolves exist?"

I shrugged. "I mean, I guess. I've never met one, though, so I guess knowing about the pack could mean the others exist, too."

This wasn't it, though. There was a look in her eyes that proved this statement. Something else was seriously bugging her, and it was something she was struggling to get out.

Her eyes moved up to my face, studying everything about it carefully. "What about . . . vampires?"

The word _almost _caused me to panic inwardly, but I managed to block it off my expression and shrugged nonchalantly. "It's possible, I guess."

"So I was right," she said quietly, eyes moving away from me again. "They are vampires, and you're becoming one."

My eyes widened in surprise at how out of the blue she was, yet how accurate. "What?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe I'm just a little paranoid now that I know about the pack and all. Am I just paranoid?"

"Don't worry about it," I dismissed helpfully while I was jumping with joy in my head. "You're handling this huge news well, Brynk. You'll get a grip on it and stop looking at every person wondering, 'Is he a werewolf? What about her?' Trust me. I went through the same thing."

_Not really . . . ._

She continued shaking her head. "I have a feeling that I'm spot on about them, and you. You just can't tell me without endangering me."

I bit my lip, chewing through it a little as a twinge of pain began digging its way into my heart. There was no way to respond to that without giving it away, and as much as I _wanted _to, I couldn't do that. Flat out denial wouldn't work because she knew better. So, I simply changed the subject.

"I bet it's the perfect time for flashlight tag."

She grinned, and I could see the relief she felt with this new topic. "Should we wake up the others?"

"Sounds good to me," I agreed. "We'll make Oliver be it."

"So you guys can't sleep either?" Sapphire's unique voice laughed from the doorway with Oliver standing tall over her and Karma already slipping her skinny way into a pair of sweats.

My eyebrows rose. "You guys okay?"

Oliver shrugged. "Lots of stuff running through my head. It's been quite a day."

Karma snorted. "especially for you two. Leah and Brady are . . . yeah."

Sapphire's cheeks turned a rosy color as she turned away from the doorway. "I'm going to get some pants on."

"Irish trashcan?" I verified.

"Of course!" she exclaimed eagerly from what sounded like the other side of the living room.

Oliver laughed. "Same here, on both counts." And then, he disappeared off to his own room to do the same.

Karma's lips pursed together. "Hmm." She stepped towards the drink in my hand. "Can I try that?"

I handed the can of Amp and moonshine to her, which she took a big sip of thoughtfully. "Good?"

"Amazing!" she disagreed, eyes widening. "Can I have one of those?"

Brynk grinned at her sister's eager, little kid-like expression. "My thoughts, too."

"It's 'cause y'all are twins," I teased. Whenever I left my room, I always put on sweats, so I just need my jacket and snow boots. "I have extra snow boots if you guys wanna borrow a pair."

"Sounds good," Brynk piped happily. "In Phoenix, we really don't need them . . . ."

We got an intense game going. There were, of course, boundaries that had to be set. It would be bad to wander too far and find, say, Emmett or Jasper in the zone waiting for something out of the ordinary to strike.

Brynk and I decided on the same tree, which she had seen me climb in the time before as she was running to find her own spot. This time, we got there together, and we slid in the large hollowed out tree together. No one ever found us, but it was great because you had to know it was hollow to realize it.

Emmett told me about it. That's how I know.

Her lips pursed. "Isn't today Christmas Eve? Well, if it's past midnight anyways."

I slid down to the fetal position, and she did the same. It was kinda fun listening to Sapphire, who was it this round, wander around us, but until she passed, I didn't answer.

"I think you're right," I finally agreed. "We can check to be sure, but I think that's about right."

She leaned over to give me a gentle hug, the kind of hug I didn't mind from her. Usually, I was a guy only hugger, but something about Brynk made certain hugs okay. "I'm really glad we got to do this, Mayze. Edward . . . he's great, and super protective of you. Not to mention Oliver and Sapphire finding their . . . love?"

"Imprinting can mean either love or friendship," I explained, smiling happily at the thought. "The werewolf—or shapeshifter, really—and their imprint live until the shapeshifter makes the decision to give up their shapeshifting ability. From there, they grow old together like any normal couple."

"So, they stay the same age until they mutually decide to give up their immortality?" she asked curiously.

I nodded. "Well, I say mutual, and it can be, but it can also be a one person deciding thing. The shapeshifter has the power to turn it off, but he's also bound to the imprint. Their every will and wish is their command. They'll do anything for their imprint."

She snickered. "Saph's gonna _love _that."

"She can actually tell him to grow a spine," I informed her. "But, we'll let her figure that one out on her own. Until then, let's enjoy watching her irritation."

"Agreed."

After a while of more talking love, boys, and changes, we mutually decided that it was probably best if we got out. They were probably either worried or tired, so getting out was a good idea. It wasn't hard to do either. There were ridges to give us places to climb out. I showed her how, and she followed.

She shivered a little and laughed. "Of course, you _would _love it best here. Cold as balls here, and you love it."

I grinned. "I _have _always loved colder things. The summers are amazing. Lots of rain and little sunlight. Higher suicide rates, sure, but . . . ."

She grabbed my wrist gently and began rubbing her fingers across the scars, some fresher than others. "Care to explain this?"

"Not really," I sighed. "I will, though. Let's just say things were rough from about June until . . . two weeks ago? Three, maybe."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Edward was gone for a while, and I was . . . well, I was raped," I said honestly, shrugging. "It just got rough, and I was raped _after _Edward left, so I had to kinda get through alone. Or that's what I thought anyways. It led to cutting for a while, somehow. I'm still not sure when that started."

She looked upset but nodded. "I . . . Mayze, if I had been here . . . ."

"There's nothing you could've done," I assured her. "Don't worry about it. I'm more than happy now, and we're gonna make this Christmas break the best da—"

I was cut off when the two of us were tackled from behind, pinned down by two cold, unnaturally strong arms. Brynk tried to scream, but he had his hand clasped over her mouth before she could even get out a sound.

When I managed to turn and look at the man who pinned us, I wasn't too surprised to find myself looking into a pair of glowing blood red eyes. He looked torn apart, so upset.

"There weren't supposed to be two," he whispered brokenly. "I have to, though. You know too much now."

I tried to get a word out, but he threw me to the side and took Brynk's arm in his. She would've struggled, but he used his vampire abilities that vampires of all kinds had and captivated her. When he did that, she was all but useless.

As he bite down, she let out a soft scream that was, once again, muffled by his hand. I did the best I could when I ran and tackled him, but that only left her bleeding and _changing_.

I tried getting to my phone, but he snapped it with his foot.

"Please don't fight," he pleaded. "I have to feed, and I do it as little as possible. You have to understand!"

"Try animals!" I yelled in his face. "I know plenty who do and live happily!"

His eyes widened in absolute horror as he took a step back. "You . . . you know the Denalis?"

"Well, yes," I said darkly, eyes tightening. "I'm engaged to one of the Cullens. You can't hurt me, or her! Trust me, that's _not _what you wanna do! Just try an animal, please! I know it doesn't work the same, but please? Just leave us alone!"

He disappeared almost as suddenly as he had appeared, and I was desperate as Brynk began screaming and thrashing around in agony. I knew what she was going through, and I had to stop it. With no phone, there were only two options. Neither seemed grand, but only one ended with my friend walking away from this a human.

I began sucking the poisoned blood out of her wrist. It had a sickly bitter taste to it for a bit, but once I got the venom drained, the blood actually tasted, disturbingly enough, _good_.

She stopped screaming but was utterly shocked as I released her arm and began spitting out the remaining poisoned blood behind me. "Mayze . . . what just—?"

"That's exactly what I would like to know!" Edward exclaimed quickly, eyes wide as he made a sudden, way too fast appearance. He was twitching a little as he looked at my mouth, noticing the fresh blood lingering there. More than that, he could smell it dripping down Brynk's arm.

"A vampire just attacked us," I explained quietly, shrugging a little. "_Not _Blade. Promise. I've never even seen him before, though. If it helps, he had a British accent."

Brynk must've been thinking back to him because recognition flashed across his eyes as he sighed. "Alistair. He's a good guy. Just hunted in the wrong area. Did you tell him who you guys were?"

I nodded. "He freaked out and left after that. She was burning, so . . . yeah . . . I kinda had to stop that from happening."

Brynk was still shaky as Edward pulled her into his arms, the same way I usually protested. After all this, especially the running around, my leg was _killing _me, but I would get used to it.

"I was right?" she guessed, and I just nodded. She didn't need words right now. Right now, she needed sleep, and I desperately hoped her sleep wouldn't be haunted by nightmares about Alistair or werewolves.

Edward seemed to have the same thought as he sat her on her bed and rushed to inform Carlisle about what happened. They treated her medically, giving her some blood to make sure she was okay, but mostly, they were watching _me_.

I was the weird _human _who drank human blood . . . and _liked it_.

Something's beyond wrong with me. I'm just sick.


	32. 31: Forty Seven

**here is chapter 31. :) no promises for more updates today, but i'll try. i'm going to my grandmother's, with my jump drive and all, but i have to finish the epilogue and type up Torn's prologue. :)**

**now, please read, review, and enjoy ch. 31! i hope ch. 30 was a huge surprise. :D **

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><p><strong>35. Careless Whispers: Seether<strong>

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><p>Brynk did quite well at hiding everything that happened last night. When Carlisle bandaged up her wrist, we explained what happened. After all, we <em>were <em>hiding in a hollowed out tree for flashlight tag, so it wasn't like we just spontaneously ended up in the woods.

Anyways, Christmas Eve was a warm and fun day. We sat around the fire, ate, drank hot chocolate, watched Christmas movies, and had an incredible time. It was a cheerful and _normal _Christmas time day.

Esme even let us help wrap some presents. She had gotten some for everyone, but they didn't know it yet. Tomorrow morning, I was gonna have to come downstairs and open my stinking presents, but they would have to do the same.

So . . . I didn't feel as bad, especially due to the fact that they had absolutely no idea they were getting anything.

I was nervous, though. I won't lie.

Considering what I got for my birthday, Christmas _had _to be scary. It was bad enough that Rose got me some of the skimpiest and sexiest lingerie she could find without making me feel downright uncomfortable, but Emmett got me a book with every different sex position . . . with pictures!

Now you see why I flipped out?

Charlie got me a camera, which was awesome. He gave me a scrapbook too, reminding me that I'll only be human and seventeen once. So, I agreed to document everything, and so far, I had been. When Brynk got in, I took a picture of her arm and her and me and all of us. When we got to my other home at the Cullens' house, I took a picture of _everyone_.

I was already starting, and my collection was only gonna get bigger.

Esme and Carlisle got me two VIP tickets to go see _Paramore_! It's safe to say I flipped my junk and actually hugged them. Repeatedly. Paramore wasn't just the band I wanted to _see_. No. I had to meet Hayley. Freaking had to.

Ironically, the show was in Jacksonville, Florida at the end of May, sometime after graduation and before the wedding.

They, of course, threw in some tickets to Jacksonville, but I thought that was unnecessary.

Alice? She got me clothes galore, most of which I wouldn't be caught dead in. They didn't fit either, because she forgot to take into account my, erm, larger chest.

Jasper got me two tickets to see Breaking Benjamin when they go to Denver at the end of March, as well as plane tickets. Once again, flipped my freaking junk and spazzy danced before hugging even Jasper. The list of concerts I had to see before I died? Yeah. That was almost complete.

Edward completed it with Three Days Grace tickets for when they come to Seattle at the end of February.

Anywho . . . that was just my birthday presents. This, total, had to cost over five grand, _easy_. I was _not _happy, but what can I do when I'm also the happiest person on the freaking planet?

Exactly. Accept them and spazzy dance some more.

It made me nervous for tomorrow, but I decided to just accept it and only pitch a fit about whatever ostentatiously absurd present Edward decided to get me, unless Alice got me more clothes in which case I would probably playfully battle her all over again.

Yeah . . . I like the shoes, though. Only the strappy, sparkly, or zipper stilettos, though. And the converse . . . but she refuses to get combat boots, so . . . sad day.

Back to Christmas Eve because my fears didn't have to be brought to life until later . . . .

That night, when it was time to go to bed, I walked right into our room and began changing with Edward coming in right behind me. There was no concern because I didn't care. He had seen me in nothing but a sexy bra before, so now was no different.

Actually, he _preferred _it that way. Before I could fully get dressed, he tackled me onto our bed and began kissing anywhere skin was exposed.

I had to hold back my comments due to his brother obsessed with my sex life that was downstairs. It felt _incredible_, though, especially when he kissed around the edges of my bra or around the waistline of my shorts.

He moved around to position himself on top of me and began tenderly rubbing my arm. "I love you."

I barely had the breath to reply, but I did. "I love you, too."

Suddenly, he rolled over off of me and let me breathe. He was propped up on his elbow, though, so he could still see me. His eye fell down towards my skimpily clad 32-DDs, where his breaths became frequent and husky.

"March . . . it sounds really good," he muttered. "Please?"

I laughed a little and shook my head. "We can't have a long honeymoon if we have it in March."

"This is more than the honeymoon," he disagreed. "Well, in a way. If you lose feeling before June . . . ."

I sighed. "Okay, I'll talk to Charlie about it. Don't forget Alice."

He pulled me against him and sighed, too. "While we're negotiating the topic of changing the date, how about tomorrow?"

"Alice would _kill _you," I laughed, shaking my head. "Sure! Let's call her now!"

His eyebrows rose in question. "You _want _me dead?"

I continued laughing and threw my arms around him, pulling him tighter against me. "No, but a courthouse wedding sounds amazing. I mean, Alice and I are already butting head, and we really haven't even gotten started."

"You need to get a maid-of-honor," he reminded me. "Or maids, if you would prefer. Jasper has been put in charge of helping Esme cook, so he won't have time when things get necessary. Emmett is for sure, as well as Seth. I'm strongly considering having three, though."

"The third being . . . ?"

"Embry," he said simply, shrugging.

I nodded. "Bella and I always swore to each other that we would be each other's maids-of-honor. I don't know if she'll really just willingly even come, much less help me get ready for it."

"Call her, right now," he suggested. "Then we'll call Alice and make her think we really decided to go to the courthouse tomorrow."

I laughed a little. "Okay."

It was a number I hadn't called, ever. Bella and I used to be together all the time, so there was no need to call anyone. Now, we hardly wanted to even be in the same house, much less _talk _to each other.

I sighed as the line began ringing. It got cut off midway through the third ring.

"Hello?"

I scowled at the sound of Jessica Stanley's voice. "Can I talk to Bella?"

"We're in the middle of a party," she said snidely. "She had me answer because she doesn't want to talk to you."

"Tell her it's about my wedding," I said urgently, rolling my eyes. "Just give her the phone, Jessica!"

"Fine," she muttered under her breath. Faintly, I heard her say, "She says it's important."

Bella sighed, but this sigh was more the Bella I loved than usual. "What is it, Mayze?"

"I still love you, Bells," I said quietly, uncertain just how I wanted to start this. So, I just didn't think and talked. My hands were fidgety, so Edward took them in his for comfort. "We swore, remember? I want you to be my maid-of-honor."

"I can't do that," she said truthfully in a heartbreakingly carefree tone. "You know that."

I was _shocked_. We swore to be there for each other, no matter what. She even said she would be there if I was marrying the worst person on the planet. Of course, she added that she would continuously try and separate us, but she still swore to be there.

But she was abandoning me.

"You _can_," I said darkly. It was too hard to completely hide the pain away, but I had to because I wasn't giving her the satisfaction of knowing she hurt me, which is what she wanted. Trying to hide the pain, though, required tears to seep through my eyelids. "You just won't be mature about this situation and _talk _to me."

"We have nothing to talk about," she said simply. "That's way past done. There is no more talking."

"If you would just talk to _him_, then, you would see exactly what _Embry _and _Seth _see! What Quil sees!"

"Embry only did that for _you_," she sneered. "Not that you gave a rip as you toyed with his emotions, especially after that bastard left you. I'm not _helping _you marry that and become a monster."

I grit my teeth. "I never toyed with Embry. Don't bother asking me to help you marry your ass wipe who you're too stupid and naïve to listen to for everything. You know, Bella, here's the deal. I'm done trying to reason with you. I'm not gonna even talk to you. Why don't you grow up? I'll try again in a few years. Maybe then you'll have something to say that I actually want to hear. I won't diss your mutt. You won't diss Edward."

"That's _never _going to happen, so just get that stupid idea out of your head now," she said icily before proving my immature remark accurate by hanging up on me.

I didn't give Edward time to console me because I called Alice the second I realized she had hung up.

"Don't you even dare!" she exclaimed. "I've already invited some friends, Mayze! Come on!"

I scowled. "Alice, I—"

"Please?" she begged. "Come on, Mayze! I swear. It'll all go your way, like _you _want it to be. Don't give up."

"I don't know what to do about my maid-of-honor," I sighed.

"You will," she assured me. "I've seen it, but I can't tell you. Please don't just _not _have a real wedding. Edward won't admit it, but he _wants _a big wedding. Remember this. Maybe it's not his first graduation or his first prom, but it _is _his first wedding. It's going to be his only wedding, basically. You two need to discuss this."

I sighed and nodded. "You're right, Alice. We'll discuss it." I knew she was busy, so I said a quick goodbye and hung up. "She's right, isn't she?"

"About what?" he murmured as he began burying his nose against my neck.

"All of it," I said quietly. "You don't want a courthouse wedding."

"I don't care," he said truthfully, but I could hear the hesitation. "I just want to marry you, even if it means going to the courthouse. Would I _prefer_ a big wedding? Well, yes. I've waited over a century to marry you, Miss Swan, and I wanna make that a big deal. The biggest wedding of the century, to be exact. Can I settle for the entire Forks population? Sure."

"Can you just tell me you want and stop all this spineless stuff?" I pleaded, groaning a little. "I'm serious, Edward."

He was quick to prop himself up so that his perfect, flawless face was twisted into a scowl down at me. "What are you talking about? This is a wedding involving two people. One person doesn't decide it."

"I know that," I said lightly, sighing as I sat myself up and began pacing around the bed. "But I wanna know what _you _want so that we can reach a compromise."

"Did you know that any normal teenage girl would be overjoyed to be told they can do whatever they want with their wedding?" he challenged, eyebrows rising.

"I figured as much," I agreed. "But did you know that I'm not any normal teenage girl?"

"Figured as much," he grinned, but suddenly, he stopped, and his eyes began widening in absolute horror, shock, and absolute agony.

I stopped pacing as I folded my arms over my chest, frowning. "What?"

He was standing in front of me, holding my arm out tenderly with his cold fingers warming me much more than they _should _with their technical temperature and all. It didn't take me long to realize just what he was looking at so shakily.

That's exactly what he began to do as his fingers ran over every scar, his lips barely moving as if to silently count them to himself. I began to worry as he began searching my body, realizing there were more than on my arms.

His eyes slid down to my stomach, mostly around my waist and belly button. They weren't even there a full second before he did a roundhouse kick straight into the metal bed frame beside us. After that shattered, he was literally destroying everything around the room.

"Edward, stop it!" I exclaimed desperately as I tried to grab him, but he threw me off of him and over to the bed.

It didn't do much, only broke a couple toes as I tripped, but he was too preoccupied to notice.

"No!" he shouted, louder than I had _ever_—and I mean _**ever**_—heard him scream. "Mayze, don't tell me that—"

"Calm down!" I yelled back at him, groaning as I realized we've probably woken up everyone in the house. The ones not asleep were probably freaking out.

As if on cue, Emmett, Jasper, Carlisle, and Rose busted through the door, eyes fierce and ready for action.

I scowled at the four. "Don't worry. He's just overreacting and broke the bed . . . and the room."

Emmett had the perfect opportunity to make a sex joke, but he didn't. His eyes didn't even show that the idea registered in his mind, but instead, he looked at Edward tightly. "What's going on?"

Edward was still shaking and began grinding his teeth. "She . . . I . . . ."

"It's the past!" I insisted. "Edward, look at me. Don't blame yourself, okay? That was _me_ being completely . . . I don't even know the right word!"

He turned his head away from me to hide whatever emotion was still lingering in his eyes. "Mayze—"

With all of my strength, I yanked his face back towards me and locked his gaze in mine. "Edward. No. This isn't your fault. It was mine. I was weak, numb. I don't even know or remember what was going through my head—"

"Forty-seven," he said quickly, brokenly. "Don't you dare tell me not one of those was because of me."

I grit my teeth together. "Edward, you don't—"

He pulled himself away from me abruptly and began heading for the door. "I . . . I need air." He managed to brush past his family to escape outside, as far away from this room as he could possibly get.

"I never thought I'd see the day where he wanted to get away from you," Rose scoffed. "What is wrong with him? I've never seen him like this, not even when we stopped by to see him that first month of being away from you."

I began rubbing my hands over my sleepy face as I walked over to my bag and pulled out an oversized Broncos t-shirt, which I quickly slipped over my head before turning to my family. "I was . . . I can't even explain to you what happened in my mind those first few months, to be completely honest with you. I truly can't tell you. I was weak, too . . . I don't even know how to explain it, but—"

Emmett took my arm in his and began studying the scars, eyes tightening a little as he looked at each one still in view. "How did you hide this from him for so long?"

"It hasn't been easy," I muttered. "And it wasn't always on purpose. Sometimes, I just wore long sleeves, and other times when he really didn't need to see them yet, I usually had cover up on the visible ones. He didn't pay close enough attention to notice, not that he ever mentioned anyways. Honestly, I don't know how it even worked, but it somehow did, and I just . . . I'm sorry."

He was looking at me like I had lost my mind as the words got out. "For what?" He pulled me into an almost painful hug. "Mayze, don't. You're not weak. Honestly, I'm surprised you made it out alive, but you're stronger than most people. You know what makes you strong?"

I began rubbing the tears that his words brought to my eyes away suddenly, sniffling a little as he released me. "No. What?"

"The fact that you made it out _alive_," he said gently. "You made it out _happy_. You still managed to think of everyone else, and you made it through. I personally can't imagine what going through all that would be like, but just picturing my life without Rose makes me begin to completely fall apart. Just the _thought_. Mayze, you're stronger than you give yourself credit for, and he'll be okay. I promise. I just think he needs to let it sink in that it wasn't just his stupid mistake that led to this."

"I can't lie and say that I never did it because he wasn't there," I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut again. "Emmett, do you know where he is?"

He shook his head. "Took off, not really sure where he's headed."

Jasper sighed. "Alice might know. I'll go ask her."

Rose quirked her lips to the side. "Yeah . . . I'm going to go head out to the car."

Carlisle nodded. "Right there, except . . . my room. Yes."

Emmett rolled his eyes but gave me an encouraging smile before gently kissing my forehead. "Get some sleep, hun. It's your first Christmas, Cullen family style. It'll have to be toned down a bit because you're only human, but it's also your last Christmas as a human."

This cheered me up a little, enough that I was able to half-heartedly smile up at him and hug him myself.

"Thanks, Em," I said softly. "I love you."

He kissed the top of my head and sighed. "Love you too, Mayze. You don't even realize how glad I am he decided to risk it all and take a chance with you." And then, he let me go and disappeared out the door.

When he was gone, I felt the tears begin to trickle down my cheeks as memories I had tried to block out began resurfacing themselves back into my mind, things I was able to ignore when someone was here to distract me.

I remembered the first time I cut myself, the pure _relief _I felt as the harsh pain broke through my numb shell. Feeling something again felt so good, and I couldn't stop even then. I cut three times and passed out before I could get the blood flow to stop.

Luckily, it was brief, and I was able to clean myself and the mess up. I bandaged the cuts and wore sweaters from then on out. I still can't tell you what went through my mind when I decided to try cutting, but I can tell you what went through my mind as I looked in the mirror the day after and realized what I had done.

Horror. I was becoming a monster.

The next time, I spaced out again and found myself cutting again. I lost track over those months, and I guess I cut myself total of forty-seven times on my arms and stomach. It wasn't an every day thing, because I tried to fight it. Something in me had to have it, though, so something in me always seemed to take over and make the sane part of me black out.

I don't know. I just remember watching myself do it and finding myself unable to stop. I wasn't in control of my own body, and that's the scariest feeling in the world.

A gentle knock sounded on the door, and before I could even dry my tears, in came Brynk, her lips quirked to the side as she entered, followed by Karma, Oliver, and Sapphire.

"You okay, Mayze?" Brynk whispered softly.

I sniffled a little, rubbing the tears away and nodding. "I'm fine, or I will be anyways. Sorry to wake you guys."

"What was he so upset about?" Oliver asked quietly, uncertainly. They seemed to realize that if Edward got that upset, they were likely to be upset too.

There was no point in hiding it anymore, so I just grit my teeth and held my arm out towards them.

Brynk surprised me when she sighed and looked at the others. "I can explain this. Let's give Mayze some space, though. She needs some alone time. Come on. I'll tell you, but give her some room to breathe."

_I love you, Brynk._


	33. E: Together

**I AM SO SORRY!**

**Yes, it has been a while since I updated. I would explain why, but it doesn't matter. Reasons. We'll stick with that. Been super busy reasons...anyways, here it is!**

**I have the prologue to Torn written out but not typed up, and I can't find that notebook, so...what I'm gonna do, because I feel bad about not updating, is I'm gonna write the chapters and post the prologue when i find the notebook. So, it'll start with Ch. 1. don't worry, though. the prologue isn't important things for the chapters. It's just sorta a nice little break from madness that you're about to get into. :)**

**So, anyways, the epilogue to Together! :D**

**btw, i really like the chapter song. i recommend it. :)**

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><p><strong>36. Together: Demi Lovato feat. Jason Derulo<strong>

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><p>It was still dark outside when I felt myself being gently lifted from the bed, but through the slits of my half open eyes, I could see light starting to break outside. I didn't have to open my eyes to know who was carrying me bridal style down the stairs and outside, into the freezing December atmosphere.<p>

I shivered a little, which makes sense since I was dressed in underwear and an oversized t-shirt. "I need pants."

"I have some in the car," he promised gently, voice full of a love deeper than anything I had heard yet. He always held back when it came to, well, everything. He had to, and he still does, but there was more to his tone than he ever allowed out.

It woke me up immediately, enough that I was able to smile and cling to him a little more.

He scoffed but kissed my temple as he stooped down under the half opened garage door. "You amaze me. It's like I _didn't _just lose complete control and break two of your toes as well as break our bedroom."

"I forgive you," I said lightly. "Besides, I probably would've done the same in your situation. I can't say I blame you. _I'm _sorry for not telling you sooner. For hiding it."

"I should've seen it," he muttered. "Enough of that, though. It's our first of many Christmases together, and baby, I'm not gonna mess this up." He took my hands in his cold ones and kissed my fingers tenderly. "I love you, Mayze, with everything I have in me. I can't even begin to explain how much you truly mean to me."

I threw my arms around him and sighed into his jacket, a smile playing on the edge of my lips. "I love you too, Edward, more than the sun."

"Well, gee, thanks," he said sarcastically, laughing as he swooped down and kissed me. It was a dance our lips knew well, but every time they danced, it seemed to only get better. Practice makes perfect, but this was more than that.

This was a little piece of heaven, a piece of my forever.

At first, we just hiked up a mountain. For an hour or so. We got to the peak of one of the smaller ones and looked out at the beautiful landscape. Covered in thick blankets of snow, the forest and lakes glistened under the light of the rising sun. I was freezing, even though I put on all the clothes he had in the car plus some of his.

That was where we finished talking things through. He was much calmer, and I told him everything that happened while he was gone. Everything that might've been hidden wasn't anymore.

He knew it all, and it was relieving. I, honestly, felt like I might float away into space. That's how much lighter things felt.

After descending the mountain, it was only seven sixteen. It was still too early for everyone to be up at his house—all the humans anyways—so we decided to swing by Charlie's and see if they were awake.

Of course, they were. Bella was cooking up a storm for obvious reasons, and Charlie was trying to figure out which bulb was shot in some of the lights he had decorating things.

I threw my arms around him as we came through the front door. "Merry Christmas, Dad!"

He laughed and met my hug with the same enthusiasm. "Hey, kiddo! Having fun with all your friends?"

I nodded. "It's amazing. We'll probably stop by later, to be honest. They were all gonna go hunting tonight anyways, so we'll probably come hang out here."

He grinned. "I'm sure Leah and Brady will appreciate that."

Edward closed the front door behind us and smiled at him. "Hey, Charlie. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you too, son," he said brightly before firmly shaking his hand. "Has she opened anything yet?"

"Not yet," Edward laughed. "I'm pretty sure everyone's still asleep, but no. We just went for a morning hike."

I nodded. "It's beautiful."

We continued talking, and Charlie gave me a small present. It was a beautiful necklace with a December birthstone diamond in the shape of a heart. I adored it, and of course, I hugged him for a while.

It was nice. Simple, nothing fancy. Perfect.

Bella and I scarcely even looked at each other, although it's not hard to figure out why. She completely abandoned me, and I was sick of it. There was a time when we were together, always. There was a time where it seemed like nothing could tear us apart.

We weren't there anymore. Now, it seems like nothing could keep us together, and I was tired of trying. I can't do it alone, and until she's ready, we can't be civil.

I stayed as little as humanly possible, because she had a look in her eye that made me wonder if she was about to get nasty. So, we spent time with Charlie and left. It was probably for the best anyways, because Brynk and Karma were probably restless. That meant that Oliver and Sapphire wouldn't be sleeping anymore either.

When we got back, I was bombarded with people wishing me a merry Christmas. Everyone was in some sort of pajama attire, including _Jasper_. It was incredible and homey feeling.

They were a little surprised to find more than one present for each of them. How were they supposed to know my family's odd desire to spend a bunch of money on people?

All in all, Oliver got the new MacBook he had been wanting from Carlisle and Esme. I was surprised how toned down the rest were. Rose and Emmett got him some expensive cologne, but what's a hundred dollars compared to seventeen hundred?

Exactly.

Anyways, Edward got him some weird something or another—a strange gadget of some sort—that they discussed on the phone, and Oliver was psyched. Jasper and Alice got him some part to a car he had been looking at. I don't really know. I didn't pay that much attention, because with each present they opened, I got more nervous about mine.

Carlisle and Esme got Karma a customized MacBook, too. Hers was black with red skull and crossbones on the back. Rose and Emmett got her . . . I don't know, probably the same thing Rose got me but toned down a little. She wouldn't open it either way. Edward got her a red pair of Monster Beat headphones by Dre, which she had been _dying _for. Alice and Jasper—Alice, really—got her some clothes. Karma loved them. She and Alice agreed in that area.

Alice and Brynk didn't, so Alice didn't get her clothes. Instead, they got her a new iPod touch. It was handy since Emmett accidentally stepped on hers and broke it. It was, of course, bigger, and it had neon lime green polka dots added on the back. Carlisle and Esme got her a MacBook to match it, too. It was great, and she flipped out. Let's see, Rose and Emmett got her some clothes that she would actually like—lots of them, really. Edward got her a black pair of the headphones he got Karma.

Sapphire got pretty much the same stuff as Karma, but her MacBook was red with black skulls. Her clothes were different, too, because she and Karma had different styles. Alice still got her right on.

I felt _awful_. What did I get everyone? Absolutely nothing. Why? I'm broke, literally. I have no money to my name whatsoever.

Of course, I say that, but then, I open my first present. What's inside?

A debit card with my name on it, unsigned, meaning Edward.

My teeth clenched a little as I sat it back on the ground. "You . . . okay, I promised."

"You did," he smirked. "And, besides, it's not like it really matters. Come June, it's just as much yours anyways."

I scowled. "This is not okay."

"It's quite okay, actually," Esme disagreed gently. "Mayze, dear, we love you. Don't worry about any of this."

I took a deep breath and looked over at Emmett, who was grinning madly. "I'm not opening whatever it is you got me. That scarred for the rest of my life. Do you realize this?"

"Just trying to help," he defended playfully. "Come on, Mayze. Promise. You'll like this one."

I picked his present up carefully with a scowl. It _was _something I promised Edward, to accept things with no complaints, but if they went as overboard with me as they did my friends—who am I kidding? It'll be worse!—then I'll probably freak out.

When I opened it up, what I got confused me. It was a bumper sticker, but I knew before I even finished reading it that Bella would _never _agree to let me put it on our Jeep. This was probably the coolest bumper sticker I had ever seen, and I was honestly okay with only this.

The sticker said in white letters, "The future Mrs. Cullen," which made me quite happy. Behind it, though, had everything no one else would understand. It was a picture of a lion, a tiger, and a bear. I got it. Edward got it, and most likely, his family did, too. No one else would, though. We knew that one day, we would complete that saying.

It's become a sort of motto, if you will.

From there, I just opened my presents and loved them. Alice got me a pair of really amazing combat boots that I had seen online once and loved. She argued with me about it for about an hour, but those were the ones she got me. Not too crazy expensive. Nice.

Carlisle and Esme got me a new MacBook similar to Brynk's, but mine had all sorts of neon colored polka dots instead of just one color. Emmett threw in some headphones, too. Jasper got me a stereo system with a deep bass capability. It was only the box, because apparently, he already installed it.

It's a nice thought, but I unfortunately don't ride in the Jeep anymore.

I still loved it, though. It was an expensive one, too, and it was gonna sound amazing.

My presents were almost done with Rose's hair, nails, and spa day she had planned—for me, of course. She was apparently gonna get her hair done, too, but I was a little worried. A day with Rose? Nerve wrecking.

That wasn't the end, though. There was one person left, and by the time I finished picking up all the paper, I realized there was only one thing left. It was actually placed on the tree, so my heart flooded with relief. I even sighed, and Edward just laughed and kissed my temple.

"It's nothing, Mayze," he murmured as my fingers began untying the bow. "Really."

The entire aura of the room changed when I took the lid off and saw a set of keys sitting in the box.

Honestly, I didn't realize he was gone until he was already running—human pace, of course—out the door. Emmett was rolling on the ground laughing so hard while Rose grinned mischievously. Alice simply talked to Karma about how she didn't understand their deep obsession with cars. Brynk, Saph, and Oliver laughed alongside Emmett while Carlisle and Esme simply smiled lovingly at me.

Of course, I took off after him, yelling his full name at the top of my lungs as I practically slammed the front door behind me. He was waiting for me, and when I got out there, he pulled me tight against himself and began kissing me all over, murmuring things that I really . . . I won't repeat them, but it surprised me. Emmett could hear. I knew he could, because I could hear his laughter getting louder, but he didn't even care.

I was blushing when he pulled my lips against his. It was such a simple action that turned into such a complex dance that our lips knew perfectly. As mine melted into the form of his, his hands came up to gently cradle my face.

"Please don't get mad," he whispered softly. "I owe you much more than this, but I'm not going to talk about that. I'm simply going to ask you to please understand that come June, it's all just as much yours anyways. And, really, when you consider the vast number of options I had, this really is nothing compared to what it could've been. I think you'll love it."

My fingers intertwined with his as we began making our short walk into the garage. What I found sitting beside their own line of foreign sports cars was the most incredible murdered black 2012 convertible Camaro. When I say murdered black, I mean it. Everything was black, except the windows, which were tinted as dark as was legal. The seats weren't quite black—a dark ebony color—but they were dark enough that from the outside, they looked black. I was too amazed to be angry, especially when I put my name in front of this car—_Mayze's _Camaro.

"Turn it on," Edward said gently, giving me an eager smile as I clutched the keys in my hands tightly. "We'll go for a test drive in a minute."

I pulled the door handle and let out a soft squeak as I got a better look. The stereo Jasper had gotten me was in fact put in here, and the entire interior seemed to be decked out and customized with top of the line stuff. It took me a minute to remember I had a purpose in opening the door, but I did what he suggested.

The sound of the engine was absolutely beautiful. It wasn't overly obnoxious and loud, but it was insane. The best part about revving it up, though, was the thing I noticed when I looked at the lights shining on the wall.

They were _blue_! I'm talking neon, unmistakable, electric blue.

I couldn't stand it anymore. This car plus my raging hormones plus the eternally embedded love I felt for Edward brought me to back him up into a corner and kiss him like the world was ending today. I clung to him and knotted my fingers in his hair, and the thing that surprised him most was when I began murmuring dirty things of my own.

He was trying to get a grip on his control, but he was struggling, and I actually got excited about that. What made the moment even steamier was when I began tugging at the waist line of his jeans.

Of course, he had to be a stinking party pooper and pull away, and I was quick to realize he was right to do so.

I wanted him, now more than other times, but this moment wasn't as bad as some others. Others, when there's nothing but pure love and romance stirring up desires and needs for each other, it's even harder to resist.

We resisted this time, though, and Edward shakily went over to turn it off. He was slow to speak, mostly because he had to tenderly kiss me before he would.

"So, you like it?"

I just laughed as I threw my arms around his neck. "I love it, Edward. Thank you, so much."

It was the best Christmas of my life.


	34. Link to Torn

**here is the link to the sequel, _Torn_. :) please continue being awesome and reading. and reviewing. and enjoying, most importantly. :D**

**www. fanfiction. net/s/7815152/1/bTorn_b**

**make sure to take out the spaces between the www. f and the ion. net**


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